MIC today outlined a list of 'dos and don'ts' for its elected representatives, which included the prohibition of frequenting pubs and bars.

Its president S Samy Vellu also stressed that the nine parliamentarians and 19 state assemblypersons should not be involved in any business venture.

"They are also required to abide by a code of conduct which prohibits the elected representatives from frequenting pubs and bars.

"They also cannot ask for land from state governments for their own use and should not be involved in any business ventures," he told Bernama .

Asked what he expected from the elected representatives, Samy Vellu said they must work diligently, maintain a code of conduct for themselves, be closer to the people and pay more attention to their constituents.

"They also have to bear in mind that this position is temporary. It is not something permanent. I always feel whenever I am in a position that the post is temporary, this will spur you to do more work. I want them to feel that," he said.

Presidential council

The president also disclosed that MIC will set up a presidential council on elected representatives to keep tabs on them.

Samy Vellu said the proposed council would meet every three months to evaluate reports submitted by the elected representatives on services rendered for their respective constituencies.

"The elected representatives will be required to submit their reports one month before the meeting (of the presidential council on elected representatives). These reports will be brought to the council which will monitor what they are doing.

"We have to find out their shortcomings, how do we advise them, how do we help them and what are the areas of help that are needed. All these can be sorted out at the meeting," he said.

Samy Vellu, who is works minister, said he would chair the council, comprising veteran party leaders as well as senior leaders holding key positions.

The party's elected representatives will also be required to follow closely the standard procedures listed in the party's handbook, ' Roles and Responsibilities for Elected Representatives '.

According to the handbook, all MIC elected representatives are required to appoint liaison officers in their respective constituencies as soon as possible.

"They are also required to visit their constituencies every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They also need to have a people's day on Sunday when the electorate of the constituency could come and meet them to air their grouses. They are also required to set up service centres," Samy Vellu said.

He added that the representatives should also be more accommodating of non-government organisations as they were more aware of issues in a particular constituency.

"The NGOs are the ones moving with the people everyday, they know the problems faced by the people, so if we keep close contact with them, then we can help solve the people's problems.

"They (the elected representatives) will also be required to maintain a directory of telephone numbers of all ministries and government agencies," said the president.

Parliamentary secretaries

Speaking on the recent appointment of three parliamentary secretaries from MIC, he said their appointments would be useful for the party and the Malaysian Indian community.

In the new cabinet line-up announced on Saturday, the MIC members appointed to parliamentary secretary positions were P Komala Devi (Education Ministry), SA Vigneswaran (Youth and Sports Ministry) and Dr S Subramaniam (Housing and Local Government Ministry).

MIC also obtained three deputy minister positions - G Palanivel (Women, Family and Community Development), S Sothinathan (Natural Resources and Environment) and S Veerasingham (Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs).

"I feel that the two ministries (Education and Youth and Sports Ministries) that we have parliamentary secretary positions are very useful. We have a lot of unsolved problems in Tamil schools and overall education of Malaysian Indian community," Samy Vellu said.

With the appointment of Komala, he added that the party would be able to air its grouses directly to the Education Ministry.

"I have also explained to (the new Education Minister) Hishammuddin (Hussein) of the problems in Tamil schools when I called to congratulate him.

"He assured me that Komala will oversee Tamil schools and report directly to him. He himself feels that many of the Tamil schools in the country needs rebuilding," he said.

The president said the appointment of Vigneswaran was also important especially with numerous youth related problems among Indians in the country.