Samy: Nothing is too little, too late
Malaysiakini.com
Mar 15, 2008

MIC president S Samy Vellu has vowed to embrace the younger generation’s strength and ideas into the party. MCPX

samy vellu pc 120308 talking"Nothing is too little, too late. We can always start afresh and look towards a new beginning," he said, calling on Indians to set aside their difference for the sake of the community.

The 72-year-old president, who has helmed the party for 28 years, has declined to accept senatorship or a cabinet post in the wake of MIC’s crushing defeat in the March 8 polls.

In a statement today, the former works minister, who also lost his Sungai Siput parliamentary seat, said he will now devote all his time towards rebuilding the party and reuniting the Indian community.

Conceding that the morale of MIC members could have been dented, Samy Vellu, however, stressed that party is still intact.

Regain the trust

He is also confident that the party will once again regain the trust of the Indian voters. "However, we need to rebuild the party and bring in young people who will take over the leadership," he said.

He urged party leaders at the grassroots to remain united and carry on with their work.

He said MIC hoped to recruit al least 300,000 members from within the younger generation. The MIC currently has a membership of 630,000 people with 3,700 branches.

"Towards this end, the Youth, Putera and Puteri wings will be strengthened and given more leverage to pull in the younger people," he said.

He noted that many of the younger generation had voted for the opposition in the last general election due to various reasons.

He said the MIC will be conducting a post-mortem on the performance of its candidates and the voting trends among the Indians.

'Committed as ever'

Apart from this, Samy Vellu said there will also be changes in the way the party has been operating.

samy vellu announce candidates 200208 posingHe said although many of the party’s top leaders lost in the last general election, they were still elected party leaders who will continue to steer the party and the community towards uplifting their socio-economic condition.

"We are committed as ever to ensure a brighter future for the Indian community," he added.

Samy Vellu has since also patched up with his former estranged deputy S Subramaniam and PPP president M Kayveas.

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