I refer to the Malaysiakini report Vell Paari: Let me clean up Maika first.

Vell Paari's preposterous statement is like adding fuel to fire. I believe the Maika investors are already disgusted with the way this embattled investment arm of MIC has been handled since S Samy Vellu took over the leadership.

It has been bad management, improper planning and haphazard investments into failing and dying ventures that have produced no gains from the very beginning. Maika has been run by people who were incompetent and incapable of making rational and proper decisions.

I remember that Rama Iyer, a well-known and respected economist, was the CEO of Maika prior to Samy's rise to power to the top in MIC. This wise and able Indian who served in the Prime Minister's Department Economic Planning Unit (EPU) was then mysteriously removed and replaced.

If Samy really had foresight and a strong vision for the Indians, he would have made full use of Rama’s knowledge and expertise to steer Maika towards being a major player in the country. On the contrary, Samy was seen to support his cronies and close associates rather than have the sincere interest of the Indians at heart.

Thus, those who appeared to be 'thorns' to his greed and power were just done away with.

The manner in which the Maika AGMs were conducted bear testimony to the threats and intimidation exercised by his leadership to silence any question raised by Maika investors pertaining to any discrepancies committed by his selected team. It is tantamount to rule of the fist rather than a show of hands.

Any move to revive this already dilapidated venture is plain stupidity. Let it rest in peace, it has already been battered and shattered and reached a point of no rescue.

I do not think the Indians, after going through a bitter experience with Maika, will ever invest in any venture having even an iota of connection with the MIC.

These investors have been cheated of the Telekom shares which until today have not been returned to its rightful owner. Its robbery of the first order.

The Indians have lost their share in the banking industry though being one of the pioneers. MIC never even made an attempt to safeguard or protect it.

Even the little stake in the lucrative insurance industry has been given away by the loss of a controlling interest in the profitable United Oriental Assurance after a new CEO from a joint-venture company took over. What attempts did MIC undertake to safeguard this small stake in this particular industry? It is a sell-out of the first order.

Ultimately, what little economic and corporate assets the Indians had, had been given away uncontested and it will be almost impossible to get it back now.

Now, we have the son of the MIC's over-staying leader who though unqualified to lead Maika in the first place, has just awoken from his slumber of many years and wants to clean up Maika when it is already in ruins. As one writer put it, it should appropriately be called a ‘clean out’ rather than a ‘clean up’.

The only sensible thing to do is to return all the investments to the shareholders who have invested all their hard-earned savings in the hope of getting some small periodic returns on their investments. However, their dreams had been shattered.

Any move to revive Maika now is plain stupidity.