Bernama | KUALA LUMPUR, 12-July-2009 — A random survey by the MIC revealed that the support from the Indian community for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s leadership has increased, its president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said today.
“We expect the support to increase further in the next few months,” he said.
At the same time, he said, the support for the MIC has also improved tremendously after its poor showing in the last general election, losing six out of nine parliamentary and 12 out of 19 state seats.
“The prime minister’s 1Malaysia concept has captivated the hearts and minds of the Indians as it is not merely a slogan but has been translated into actions beneficial to the community,” he told reporters after opening the party’s Youth wing’s leadership forum here.
It was reported recently that the Merdeka Centre survey showed that some 74 per cent of Indians polled were satisfied with Najib’s performance as prime minister.
Samy Vellu said the increase in the support for the prime minister among the Indians was attributed to the many reforms undertaken by Najib and his administration.
He said the 11 initiatives announced by the prime minister yesterday, including allocating RM15 million under the Tekun scheme for Indian entrepreneurs has boosted the support among Indians towards the prime minister.
“Before this, the prime minister allocated RM100 million for Tamil schools, RM20 for Indian youth development programmes and RM499 million worth of Amanah Saham Malaysia shares,” he said.
Intake of Indians into public universities and public sector had also improved, he said, stressing that almost nine per cent of Indians were recruited into the civil service.
Samy Vellu said many of the new policies and allocations for the Indian community introduced by the government were contained in several recommendations made by the MIC over the past 18 months.
He thanked Najib for considering many of the party’s proposals which were also similar to the demands made by other Indian organisations.
On the MIC elections, Samy Vellu said he would probably announce his line-up after the nominations for the post of deputy president, three vice-presidents and 23 Central Working Committee members.
“I can’t say now but I have my own preferred candidates (for the posts),” he said.
The MIC polls are scheduled to be held on Sept 12 while nominations would take place two weeks before polling.
Samy Vellu is said to be backing incumbent MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel for the number two post while the contenders are former deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam and vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan.
MIC secretary-general and Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam may also join in the fray.
— BERNAMA