KUALA LUMPUR, 17 April 2009: MIC elected representatives in the government can help the Barisan Nasional (BN) regain the support of the Indian Malaysian community by performing above expectations in their respective portfolios.
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk SK Devamany said this today, adding that the party representatives must work hard for the good of the people.
He however admitted he realised that the community and the MIC were disappointed that there were no additional MIC elected representatives appointed to the cabinet.
The MIC was given one post of minister and two posts of deputy minister in the new administration, just as in the previous administration. Besides Devamany as a deputy minister, the MIC has its secretary-general Datuk Dr S Subramaniam as the human resources minister and its information chief Datuk M Saravanan as the deputy federal territories minister.
“We must cast aside our disappointment and work hard to prove ourselves, putting the people’s interests first before anything as propounded by the prime minister,” he told reporters after a visit to Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) Taman Melawati, here.
Over the past week, news reports stated that the MIC was considering pulling out its representatives from the government due to dissatisfaction over the appointment of a limited number of party representatives.
Yesterday, MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu cleared the air when he said the MIC had no intention of withdrawing its representatives from the government.
Devamany, who is MIC treasurer, said he was confident Dauk Seri Najib Razak’s administration would give due consideration to the interests of the Indian Malaysian community, especially with there being a cabinet committee on Indian Malaysian affairs.
On Tamil schools located on private land, he said it was high time that the land disputes were resolved once and for all and not on a piecemeal basis. — Bernama
