Former MIC president S Samy Vellu has declared himself to be a “winnable candidate” if he is asked to contest in the 13th general election.

 

NONE "The question of ‘winnable candidate’ - I am a winnable candidate, there's no doubt about it," he said, although he had been defeated in the long-standing MIC stronghold of Sungai Siput in 2008.

Samy Vellu told a press conference this morning that he is ready to step up if BN chairperson Najib Abdul Razak decides that he is the right candidate for the coalition.

 

“The 2008 election is a very sad history, because some of our own people sabotaged the election, you can see 1,001 votes were placed into the box which was instigated by somebody who is also in BN,” he said.

Samy, who had once blamed former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said however his defeat wasn’t caused by the latter, as not every voter in Sungai Siput heeded Mahathir’s advice not to vote for him.

BN will regain Sungai Siput if it fields a candidate who is good, hardworking and knows the people, said Samy Vellu, who is also the chief of the Social Rehabilitation Foundation which donated RM11,000 to the families of policemen who had been killed or injured during the Lahad Datu incursion.

He would not give a direct answer to a question on whether or not MIC president G Palanivel and other party leaders should stick to safe seats.

“In this country, no seat is a safe seat now. You have to give your life to fight in every seat. If somebody wants a safe seat, the best way is (not to) contest,” he said.

“The fellow who asks for safety is not a hero, if you go to a war and ask for a place to hide, that’s not a hero,” he said.

After he stepped down as MIC president, the government appointed Samy Vellu as special envoy for infrastructure to India and South Asia.

Samy Vellu is confident BN will win with a good majority as Najib is the first premier to take great care of every ethnic group in the country, ading that voting for the coalition will lead to five years of happiness and a developed society.

“MIC has been working in the election from every angle, they have held several meetings and done field work, all this will strengthen the Indian votes,” he said.

'Indians want to create new history'

From his experience as Sungai Siput BN chairperson, he said he knows Indians are very close to BN, they have forgotten the past and want to create new history to regain their loss and support BN.

“This time you can see, even the opposition can’t go near the Indian community, as Indians have been well taken care of,” he said.

He also said that being a man of his word, Najib should and will adopt the blueprint and demands brought up by Hindraf.

He said Najib approaching the group should not be seem as he had overlooked MIC’s role and bypassed the party, as the BN is a big party and Najib has the right to speak with everyone he wants.

“If they (Hindraf) were to come to us, it will be beneficial to us,” he said.

Samy Vellu claimed Hindraf is still relevant in politics as both Hindraf chief P Waythamoorthy and his brother are good boys.

“They are still relevant because both are them good boys. The reason I said they are good boys is because I knew them during their schooldays,” he said.