Former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam, 62, was roughed up during the annual general meeting of Maika Holdings, the party's debt-ridden investment arm, in Kuala Lumpur today.

Met at his residence in Petaling Jaya later, Subramaniam, who described it as "shameful and the worst meeting he has attended in his life," said a group of men had prevented him from speaking.

"When I asked the chairperson (Abdul Rashid Abdul Manaf) permission to speak, 20 fellows stood up and said, 'you don't speak'. And the chairperson just sits there and keeps quiet. Then another 20 fellows would come to hold and push each other.

"I was manhandled, one person put his arm on me and pushed me. He told me 'you don't have permission to speak'.

"I told him to stop pushing me and keep quiet as I am talking to the chairperson ... the chairperson is telling me 'how to speak in this condition'. The chairperson looked pathetic," he said, adding that it was nothing short of a 'pandemonium'.

"I went twice to the mike but both times a huge group of people came ... telling me not to speak. One of them physically restrained me. I told him not to push me. I know him, he comes from the Ulu Selangor (MIC) division. He did not back off, he said, 'no, you don't have to speak here ... in front of the chairperson."

Subramaniam, who was visibly upset with the incident, will file a police report on the 'assault' against him either today or tomorrow.

Important resolutions

Commenting further on the situation in the hall, the former MIC deputy president said there were some 100 people standing around who did not look like shareholders.

"They were brought there in the name of security," he said.

"Every time a question is raised, and if the question is not liked by someone in the hall, they will go and stand next to the speaker and hold him. One speaker was physically pushed out," he added.

Subramaniam said he has not attended a Maika meeting for the last seven or eight years as he had lost faith in the way the company was managed.

However, he decided to attend this meeting due to two important resolutions that were mooted - the sale of Maika's cash cow Oriental Capital Assurance Bhd (OCAB) and the distribution of the returns to the shareholders.

Apart from this, he was also there to speak on behalf of the minority shareholders who had turned to him for help.

"This is why I went. I was hoping to speak on these issues. I was not interested in deliberating on the bygones or the losses in each and every investment they (Maika) made.

"(But) there was no way I could submit or even talk about the resolutions (because of the disruptions). It was pointless, so I walked out of the place," he said.

"The resolutions were not even read out, somebody from the floor, with a 100 or 150 people standing around, said 'let us take a vote on the resolutions'. Some people said 'aye' while others protested saying 'what are you doing, there have been no discussions'.

"Then the chairperson gets up and says 'let's put the resolutions to vote'. (Following this) the chairperson and the board left the hall. Only the scrutineer, who is supposed to be an auditor was giving out the (ballot) papers, so I thought I had no place there.

"Even when the chairperson was around, it was an unruly situation. If the chairperson and the board felt that it was not suitable for them to stay on. It was more important that I also leave," he added.

Front row trouble-makers

According to Subramaniam, the chairperson and the board were not running the meeting.

"The fellows seated in the first three or four rows were trying to run it as they pleased. I don't know where the community is heading to with these kind of situations."

"There was a resolution that required much attention, it was a big decision. But not one fellow spoke about it or was allowed to speak," he lamented.

Subramaniam said he will now focus on how to protect the interest of the minority shareholders in Maika Holdings, which is helmed by MIC president S Samy Vellu's son Vell Paari.

Subramaniam and Samy Vellu have been at loggerheads over the past two decades. The feud culminated in the former's defeat in last year's MIC polls to the president's choice for the number two slot, G Palanivel.

Watch the 3-minute video here.