The Hindu : Front Page : Samy Vellu loses long-held parliamentary seat

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Sunday, Mar 09, 2008
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Samy Vellu loses long-held parliamentary seat

P. S. Suryanarayana

His defeat creates leadership vacuum among ethnic Indians

— PHOTO: AP

TESTING TIME: Malaysia’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi arrives at party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, to monitor the election results on Saturday.

SINGAPORE: Malaysian Indian Congress president Samy Vellu lost his long-held parliamentary seat in Saturday’s general election, causing a leadership vacuum among the two million ethnic Indians, who form about eight per cent of the population in the southeast Asian country.

Mr. Samy Vellu’s defeat, at the hands of D. Jeyakumar of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, came amid a series of upsets for the ruling ‘Barisan Nasional’ coalition of race-based parties.

Seeking a ninth successive term, Mr. Samy Vellu said, after casting ballot, that the people of his constituency, Sungai Siput in the Perak State, had always treated him as a member of their family and that he would, therefore, win again.

However, his position at the helm of the Malaysian Indian Congress, the only recognised party of ethnic Indians, had already come under attack, following street demonstrations for the “rights” of these people on a par with the Malay majority and the Chinese minority.

Retain seats

While Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak retained their seats and looked like ensuring the extension of the B.N.’s hold on power at the federal level, at least four Ministers lost by 1 a.m. local time Sunday.

Besides Mr. Samy Vellu, the most prominent among the losers was Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Jalil, who was trounced by Nurul Izzah, daughter of the former Deputy Prime Minister and one-time incarcerated leader, Anwar Ibrahim.

Opposition circles and independent observers said M. Manoharan, a leader of the unregistered Hindu Rights Action Force and one of five persons of this group detained without trial under the Internal Security Act, won the Kota Alam Shah seat in the Selangor State Assembly.

However, this was not immediately confirmed by the poll panel.

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