Sg Siput, the town that Samy Vellu built

NESTLED between the royal township of Kuala Kangsar and the Perak capital of Ipoh is the planters' haven of Sg Siput, whose historical name reportedly derives from the large concentration of edible snails found at a nearby river.

In the 1970s, there were up to 12 plantations growing anything commercially possible, from rubber to oil palm to tropical fruits, as well as traditional plants.

Today, the numerous plantations remain but they have also been supplanted by emerging cottage industries, as many residents have flocked to Ipoh – which is a 45 minute drive away – to gain employment in the services and manufacturing sectors.

Sg Siput is also the town built by its legendary parliamentarian Tun S. Samy Vellu, whose death last week led to an outpouring of condolences, at a level which has not been seen or heard in recent memory, especially when it comes to a political figure.

Samy, 86, was not just the longest ever serving Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) party president, he was also by far the longest elected parliamentarian to serve Sg Siput.

The seat by tradition has always been held by a MIC president. In fact, before the outspoken and brash Samy occupied it, it belonged to Tun V. T. Sambanthan, the local-born community leader.

The current aspirant for the Sg Siput seat is party president Tan Sri S. A. Vigneswaran.

A tour of the town

"This town was built by Samy Vellu. You do not believe it. Come, I will take you around and showcase it to you. It is Samy's town lah," said Sg Siput MIC division head K. Mani Maran.

Mani first showed off the district hospital, saying that it was a rare feat that an agrarian community would be bestowed with a district hospital, despite Ipoh and Kuala Kangsar being relatively nearby.

He then showed a community college which was brought in by Samy Vellu to inject youth to the town and to boost domestic consumption.

That wasn’t enough as Samy got the federal allocations to establish modern facilities for the police, firemen, volunteer corps and the district office, as well as local district council.

He also helped the local Indian Muslim community to build a mosque here and there was a district convention centre at Taman Tun Sambanthan, in addition to sporting facilities.

Samy also provided some 1,000 estate workers with affordable housing at the modern housing estate at the same Taman with below market prices.

His clarion call was that he did not want to see any estate workers staying in ramshackle homes provided by the estate owners here, said Mani. 

There is just one main straight road in town, connecting Kuala Kangsar and Ipoh, but alongside it are signs of development and commerce – there is a KFC, Family Mart and several bubble tea outlets.

Bringing development to the community

What made Samy stand apart from his successors such as Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj, a socialist candidate or S. Kesavan from PKR, was his uncanny ability to produce results and to bring in development, according to Mani.

Since losing the seat in 2008, the town has remained at a standstill – not much has changed.

Mani then showed how the late Samy would begin its constituency visits on many weekends, from 1974 until 2008, when he lost to Jeyakumar.

It would usually start on an average hot Friday afternoon where the meeting point would be the Teratai coffee shop, just across from the district police headquarters here, and it would end on a Sunday afternoon, before he drove back to Kuala Lumpur.

Coffee shop proprietor Loh Pei Yee recalled how Samy would order his routine white coffee with kaya toast.

"It was his favourite, and he was our favourite person because he was attentive to us."

Loh informed how Sammy had granted RM50,000 in aid to her relative after the latter's son was tragically electrocuted while working as a foreman here.

Or how he would dish out ang pows to the Chinese community during Lunar New Year, Loh said, as some family members, seated nearby, nodded in unison.

Former Sg Siput MIC division Youth chief T. Nadarajah said Samy was a stickler for punctuality, and he would get scolded by the party president for his tardiness at times.

"Even with traffic jams, Samy Vellu would be on time, and he is a straight talker. If you're late, be prepared to be in for a tongue lashing," said Nadarajah.

His former special officer N. Subramaniam JP, aged 85, said that Samy used to work until midnight when he was on his constituency rounds here, tending to many issues.

Reaching out to his constituents

An interesting detail about this constituency is that the demographics are as Malaysian as can be, with no race dominating.

Hence, Samy needed to be multi-racial in his approach, even though he was the MIC president, said Subramaniam.

The breakdown is about 36% Malays, 34% Chinese, 28% Indians, 20% Orang Asal and the rest are smaller minorities, he revealed.

"Which meant our late Samy needed to serve all races and he was adept at it."

Subramaniam recalled one of his greatest challenges was Samy’s visits to the interior to meet the Orang Asal communities, who live in tough to reach locations.

As the country was embarking on its industrialisation phase at the time, Mani said the rural constituencies were mostly neglected so Samy needed to convince the Federal Government for funding, with occasional donations from the private sector.

"In a way he was a modern-day Robin Hood. He took from the government and gave it to the poor here. As we may know, there are many estates here," said Mani.

So, it shouldn’t be a surprise to see roads, schools and buildings named after him.

"I think he is deserving of this," said Mani of Samy, who had served as a key minister in the portfolios of energy, water, telecommunications and works over the course of his career.

Sg Siput MIC division Wanita head K. Seroja said that the late MIC president was a one of a kind leader – he was an exemplar, regardless of how his critics may describe him.

"I do not think we can find another leader like him. He was down to Earth."

Seroja is saddened that Samy’s legacy is being tainted by the wanton attacks levelled at him by critics who were motivated by envy.

"They latch on to half-truths and outright slander to gain political mileage against him."

"If one wants to see fully tarred roads without potholes, take a drive here," Mani adds. – The Vibes, September 20, 2022