MIC president S Samy Vellu lashed out at PKR today, warning the opposition party that MIC is also capable of launching a 'war' but its members chose to abide by the law.

He also blamed PKR and its ‘thugs’ for being responsible for the recent spate of demonstrations involving the Indian community.

sungai siput nominations 240208 samy flanked by ahamad and cheah 2 "People who bunyi-bunyi di jalan raya (make noise on the streets) are all from the opposition. They are using the name of Hindraf. But they are not Hindraf.

"They are all samseng Keadilan (PKR thugs). They are causing fear amongst the public," he said.

Speaking to reporters after a function in Sungai Siput, Samy Vellu was referring to the cancellation of his Lunas visit yesterday due to a stand-off with a large crowd, reportedly linked to Hindraf.

According to Sin Chew Daily , the crowd numbered around 3,000 and Samy Vellu was advised to avoid his Lunas dinner appointment at a Chinese temple.

However, Samy Vellu said today that there were only 600 to 700 people but they were armed with rocks and knives.

lunas ceramah riot 270208 03 "If you want to use the knife use it in the market. If you think you can slash me in the market, pergi potong lah (then go ahead and cut)!" he said.

"They think it is easy to finish a person. That won't happen," he added.

Samy Vellu has been dogged by hecklers and small demonstrations during several of his functions nationwide ever since the Hindraf mass-rally last November.

This not the first time that Samy Vellu faced humiliation in Lunas. In a bitterly fought 2000 by-election between MIC and PKR, he vowed not to return to Kuala Lumpur without a victory in Lunas.

Subsequently, MIC was dealt a major blow when the party stronghold fell into opposition's hands after a major swing of votes against the government.

The 'liquor' technique

Continuing his verbal tirade against the opposition, Samy Vellu accused the parties of using underhanded tactics to instigate Indians to take to the streets.

lunas ceramah riot 270208 02 "Opposition parties give liquor to people to cause trouble. This is the new technique of the new century."

Describing the action of the demonstrators as "war", the MIC president warned that his party was capable of retaliation.

"We can do that too. If they really want to have war, we can show them war (to show our strength). We have thousands of MIC Youth (members). But they follow the law," he said.

pandan parliamentary seat 270208 Samy Vellu also slammed two Tamil papers for publishing reports on demonstrations involving Indians and blamed his political rivals, who own the papers, for doing so.

He said these politicians were pretending to be friendly to the Barisan Nasional but secretly urging the opposition and the Indian community to organise more demonstrations.

"It is a tactic to get the Indians to do more and more demonstrations. They are not demonstrating against MIC. They are demonstrating against Barisan Nasional," he said.

Tamil dailies Makkal Osai and Malaysia Nanban are aligned to Samy Vellu's rivals, former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam and Malaysian Indian United Party (MUIP) president S Nallakaruppan respectively.

Samy Vellu, 71, who is seeking his ninth-term as Sungai Siput MP, is contesting against PKR's D Jeyakumar for the third time.