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Malaysian Indians need not “beg” for funds under Najib: MIC leader

HULU SELANGOR — Indian leaders had to “beg” for public fund allocations during the Mahathir administration compared to the current government, a senior Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) leader has claimed.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Photo: AFP

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak. Photo: AFP

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HULU SELANGOR — Indian leaders had to “beg” for public fund allocations during the Mahathir administration compared to the current government, a senior Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) leader has claimed.

MIC deputy president S.K Devamany said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has done a lot for the Indian community, especially in terms of funding for schools and projects, unlike former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad whom he accused of being stingy.

“During Mahathir’s era, Indians had to beg for money: Samy Vellu had to beg for a paltry million every year,” Mr Devamany said at a Barisan Nasional (BN) public forum, referring to former MIC president S. Samy Vellu.

“But this good man (Najib) has allocated up to RM80 million (S$25.3 million) a year for Indians,” Mr Devamany added.

He also said that from his experience working with Mr Najib in the Cabinet, the prime minister always puts the people first.

“Najib is a good man. He cares for the people. Najib always talks about people’s problems.”

“He knows people can’t afford houses. He knows it’s hard, he wants us to work hard to resolve it,” said Mr Devamany.

The MIC is one of the founding members of the ruling BN coalition, and it seeks to “represent, express and give effect to the legitimate aspirations of Malaysian Indians”.

Mr Maglin Dennis D’cruz, the senior vice-president of the People’s Progressive Party (myPPP), said the Indian community should reward Mr Najib with their unwavering loyalty in the next general election.

“It was so hard for Indians during Mahathir’s time, but now we have so much funding from the government.

“We should respect this and in return cast 60 to 70 per cent of our votes for Najib,” he stressed.

myPPP is one of the constituent members of the ruling BN coalition.

Mr Devamany also took the chance to warn Hulu Selangor residents not to be influenced by the opposition or even by their children in university, who might be anti-government.

“Be careful of your children, if they come back from holidays from their universities (overseas) and want to convert you to become opposition supporters,” he said.

“Don’t listen to them, stand your ground: you know better.”

BN said it will host a series of roadshows around Malaysia to explain current issues and to debunk the opposition’s allegations against the government. MALAY MAIL ONLINE

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