SUNGAI SIPUT – Makkal Sakti president Datuk Seri S. Thanenthiran was insincere for suggesting that the North-South Expressway (NSE) be renamed after the late former MIC president Tun S. Samy Vellu, Sg Siput MIC division secretary M. Ashok Kumar said.
Ashok said that Thanenthiran should have made such a suggestion when Samy Vellu, who was the longest-serving Sungai Siput MP, was alive and lucid.
“Why wait until Samy Vellu had passed on to make such a suggestion?
“This same disregard has also been accorded by other political rivals, who suddenly began heaping praises on him but had ridiculed the man when he was alive.”
Samy Vellu did not die suddenly and had been ailing for some time, Ashok added.
“It would have been opportune to provide tributes and close ranks with Samy Vellu when he had retired and was alive.
“Instead, his detractors kept quiet and only began doling out accolades after he was gone. It is in bad taste,” said Ashok.
Samy Vellu, who was Sungai Siput MP from 1974 to 2008, was also works minister.
The 86-year-old was cremated yesterday at the DBKL Crematorium in Cheras after he had passed away peacefully three days ago.
While paying his last respects, Thanenthiran had suggested that the NSE, which runs from Perlis to Johor, be renamed after Samy Vellu to recognise his contributions in developing the country’s infrastructure.
“Samy Vellu is a legend who will never be forgotten. I hope the government will announce the renaming of the highway as a show of gratitude for his contributions to the country,” Thanenthiran had said, also describing the late MIC leader as the “father of infrastructure”.
Sg Siput MIC chairman K. Mani Maran shared the same sentiment, saying it was opportunistic of Samy Vellu’s critics to gain political mileage out of his passing.
“Samy Vellu may have had some weaknesses, as he was also human, but overall, he was a great leader to us in MIC Sg Siput,” said Mani Maran. – The Vibes, September 18, 2022
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