Although the Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED), the education arm of the MIC, is a separate entity from the party, it will serve the community for the long haul, party deputy president G Palanivel said today.

"Last evening when I was in Bagan Pinang, I managed to get a few minutes with (MIC president) S Samy Vellu and asked about the MIED matter and he gave me his explanation. He explained what he meant when he said the MIED was a separate entity.

NONE "Yes, we all know that it is a separate entity governed by trustees. The MIED is a child of MIC. It was born in the MIC with its president, Samy Vellu, as its founder.

"All the trustees and most of the board members are all MIC leaders at various levels, both past and present. Therefore, it is a well-placed organisation, structured to serve the community for the long haul," he said in his jottings in his blog .

Over the week, the media had lambasted Samy Vellu after he said that the MIED, worth RM1 billion including the party's Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST), was a separate entity from the MIC.

He was also reported to have said that since it was a separate entity, the Malaysian Indian community or the MIC had nothing to do with it, although the MIED was run under the umbrella of the largest Indian-based political party in the country.

This remark had drawn the ire of several party leaders, including former deputy president S Subramaniam, and the community as it was a known fact that the MIED, and especially AIMST, were built on monies collected from the community and the party grassroots leaders.

"In a recent conversation with me at the MIC headquarters, Samy Vellu said that even when he is no longer president of MIC he will still be coming to the MIED office, which is in the same building, to work. I had jokingly replied 'that means the people will not be coming to see me'.

"Let us put to rest the question of the MIED walking away or being hijacked. The MIED is the pride of the Indian community. Let us keep it that way," Palanivel said.

What about Nesa Cooperatives?

Meanwhile MIC Youth wing had taken exception to Subramaniam's attack against Samy Vellu over the MIED-Aimst issue.

The wing's secretary C Sivarraajah said Samy Vellu was right in saying that both MIED and Aimst were independent legal entities, although the link between them and MIC was undeniable.

The youth wing also challenged Subramaniam to reveal the status of Nesa Cooperatives which he heads.

"If he claims that the Aimst and MIED are ‘owned' by the MIC, he should also let the MIC manage Nesa Cooperatives, since it falls within the same category of MIC-linked organisations," Sivarraajah said in a statement.

He added that organisations such as Aimst, MIED, Nesa and the National Land Finance Cooperative Society (NLFCS) were started by the MIC leadership to help the Indian community.

"From their inception, these organisations have always been separate legal entities, formed for niche purposes. This is the so called ‘link' to the MIC.

"All the above organisations have a board of trustees and management, which is independent from the MIC. On the same note, it is important to note that none of the organisations belong to any one individual," he added.

- Bernama