The Indian community in the country should be grateful for the help extended to build new Tamil schools and repair old ones by the Barisan Nasional government, said former MIC president S Samy Vellu.  

He said through the RM300 million allocated for the purpose, a total of 75 new Tamil schools were being built while 50 more were being planned.

“With the allocation, Tamil schools in the country will enter a new phase of history and we have to thank the government for this," he told reporters after opening an additional school block for Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SRJKT) Ladang Henreitta in Padang Serai near here today.  

The three-storey block costing RM1.8 million, which was completed last December, can accomodate 290 pupils.

Samy Vellu, who is also Special Envoy (Infrastructure) to India and South Asia, also thanked Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for the concern he was showing for the Indian community in the country.  

“MIC's leadership now is working very hard to uplift the economic status of the Indian community so that they are not left behind the other races as Malaysia strives to be a high income nation," he added.

- Bernama