Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today said he believed MIC president S Samy Vellu's denial over accusing him of not doing anything for the Indian Malaysian community.

"He rang me up, I was in Turkey (last week). He said he did not say such a thing. He is a good friend and I believe him," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

Mahathir was asked by malaysiakini to comment on a controversial report which quoted Samy Vellu as criticising the former premier for not delivering on the promises made to the community under the Eighth Malaysia Plan (8MP).

The MIC president denied the report, which was published in Tamil dailies Makkal Osai and Malaysia Nanban last week. He also threatened legal action against them.

This later escalated into a scathing attack against his estranged deputy S Subramaniam, whom he accused of being responsible for the controversy.

Subra did not call

Commenting further, Mahathir said that sometimes newspapers do not report the actual scenario.

"You know sometimes reporters, they write something that is not what it is, and sometimes also they have sub-editors who may change what the reporter tells them, by the time you read them (the reports), it may not reflect the actual answer," he added.

However, both Makkal Osai and Malaysia Nanban , have defended their reports.

Responding to another question, Mahathir said Subramaniam did not call him regarding the matter.

"No, he didn't speak to me," he said when asked about this.

Last week, Samy Vellu told reporters that he had contacted Mahathir to explain the issue. He also claimed that another MIC leader, whom he did not name, had tried to contact the former premier.

Ties between the MIC president and his deputy have been strained for a long time. Things took a turn for the worse when Samy Vellu endorsed current vice-president G Palanivel for the number two post.

While Subramaniam denied any involvement with the report in the two dailies, Samy Vellu has accused his deputy of attempting to undermine the party.

Vexed supporters of the president have also burned copies of the two Tamil dailies over the weekend.