Samy Vellu’s outburst came after meeting parents of students studying at the University in Trinidad and Tobago at the MIC headquarters.
Fact however is fact and Samy Vellu’s anger cannot hide the truth that if not for the DAP raising the issue of the MIC delay in disbursing the RM3.2 million government loan to help the Malaysian Indian medical students who face financial problems as a result of the financial crisis and the difference in the US dollar exchange rate, the issue would have remained outstanding and Samy Vellu would not have even met with the parents of the students involved last Saturday.
I had raised the issue at the 2,000-People Klang DAP "Welcome Lim Guan Eng Back with Honour" Dinner on Sept. 5, wanting Samy Vellu to explain the delay in the disbursement of the RM3.2 million government loan earmarked for the 80 Malaysian Indian medical students in Trinidad and Tobago.
Earlier at the dinner, I had received a complaint from the parent of one of the students stranded in Trinidad and Tobago, who in early June had written to the MIC inquiring about the RM3.2 million financial aid to the 80 Malaysian Indian students in the West Indies, but three months passed by without any response from the MIC.
In May this year, the local press quoted Samy Vellu as saying that last year, the MIC had borrowed RM3.2 million from the Government to help finance 80 Indian students studying medicine in Trinidad and Tobago.
Samy Vellu said it was not true that the the government had allocated the money last year although he had raised the matter with the Prime Minister last year and that the government had agreed to help the students this year. If this is the case, then Samy should have faulted the local media for wrong reporting, as well as himself for not correcting the wrong report.
I am glad that after I had raised the issue, Samy Vellu and MIC had acted promptly so that this issue would not be raised in next month’s Parliament as I had promised to do if the MIC continued to turn a deaf ear to the complaint.
Samy Vellu should explain why the MIC must wait for the DAP to raise the issue before it could act to resolve the problems of the Malaysian Indian medical students in the West Indies.
However, the parents of the Indian medical students are mystified as to why the loans should be made by the Public Services Department, when in the earlier media report, Samy had announced that the MIC had borrowed the RM3.2 million from the government. Samy should give a proper explanation
(27/9/99)