In what appears to be a never ending saga between the pair, MIC president S Samy Vellu and his nemesis S Subramaniam are at loggerheads again.

NONE Responding to Samy Vellu's threat to sue him for defamation, Subramaniam said he welcomes the move.

"It would give an opportunity not only to me but the whole nation to expose the truth," he added in a statement issued this afternoon.

The bone of contention this time around is MIC's problem-laden education arm Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED).

While Subramaniam has vowed to prevent the 'hijacking' of MIED, Samy Vellu warned of legal action against his former deputy, whom he believes is suffering from dementia.

The cause of the rift is a report which appeared in Malaysiakini last week, where the president said MIED and Aimst were non-governmental organisations set up in his personal capacity.

"Just because I happened to be the MIC president, it does not mean that MIED and Aimst belong to MIC," he had said.

'Blatant lie'

Subramaniam, who dismissed this as a blatant lie, said it only confirmed rumours that Samy Vellu was planning to hijack the immensely valuable organisations held in trust for the party.

The former MIC deputy president, who is a founding member of the educational arm which comes under the Aimst university, said he would get in touch with the trustees and members of MIED to discuss the issue.

He also did not rule out the possibility of calling for an extraordinary general assembly.

samy vellu exclusive on tamil schools 080708 06 Following this, Samy Vellu said he has instructed his lawyer to initiate defamation proceedings against Subramaniam, whom he added appears to have lost his mind since his defeat in the Sept 12 MIC elections.

"He has launched a series of verbal attacks against MIC and my leadership in a bid to tarnish the good name of the party and its members, not to mention my leadership.

"I do not wish to comment further, except to say let him prove if there were such thoughts in my mind in the court," the MIC president added in a statement.

Contradictory statements

Commenting on this Subramaniam pointed out that Samy Vellu did not deny making the statement to Malaysiakini .

"He is now challenging me to prove his thoughts. His own words are reflective of his thoughts. If he has any contrary explanation, he should explain it clearly. We want to know whether MIED and Aimst belong to MIC or not.

mic and mied education scandal "Samy Vellu would be the only president in office who disowns assets of his own party. Anyone reading his two contradictory statements would know who is crazy," he added.

Meanwhile, Subramaniam also took a swipe at Samy Vellu's son and MIC Youth advisor Vell Paari for defending his father over the latest controversy.

"Vell Paari came to his defence by writing in their family owned newspaper (Tamil Nesan) justifying the father's statement. It is another father and son drama," he said.