The recently concluded Ijok by-election proved that MIC 'holds' the Indian community in Malaysia, said party president S Samy Vellu.

In his winding-up speech at the 61st MIC general assembly in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, he said that numerous quarters tried in vain to jeopardise the party's chances in the by-election.

"So many reports claimed that we would fail, but did the Indian community (in Ijok) listen to all of this? No!

"Ijok was a historical event. Even the prime minister, his deputy and (Selangor) menteri besar agreed that MIC has the Indian community in its hold," he said, adding that by 'hold', he meant it more like an embrace.

The April 28 by-election saw MIC's K Parthiban defeating Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Khalid Ibrahim by a 1,850 vote majority. Reports stated that 85 percent of the Indian votes went for Parthiban.

According to Samy Vellu, who has led MIC for more than two decades, the party is "big, strong and friendly like the security guard at Chartered Bank."

"We should not be worried of anybody who is trying to shake this party," he said, adding that he too is not afraid of attacks.

"I have faced plenty of attacks and in the early days, even those who supported me were attacked," he said.

Like an elephant

The veteran politician also told delegates that the party must prove its strength through the ballots and for this to happen, all eligible Indian voters in the country must be registered.

In view of this, he urged the party's grass-root leaders to work hard to ensure that every Indian in their respective areas is registered.

Samy Vellu also likened MIC to an elephant.

"An elephant does not realise its own strength, but its enemies know. We should be like this as well. We should be calm but must show our strength when it matters," he said.

During the course of his speech, the MIC president also took a swipe at the large number of delegates who had left before the curtain fell on the assembly. Some 1,400 delegates had attended on the first day.

Among others, he said: "This is why we need to groom responsible and committed leaders."

Apart from this, Samy Vellu also stressed on the need to address the socio-economic woes of the Indian community.

"MIC is responsible for the socio-economic progress of the Indians in Malaysia," he reminded the delegates.

The party president also revealed that he would be conducting a "political test" in 17 places for MIC branch leaders.

"We will meet on a Saturday, we will strategise, have dinner, sing, dance and go home. On Sunday, we will get down to business.

"From then on, I will have people looking out to see if it (the plans) are being carried out," he said.