“I’m not representing Umno. But long ago I have said that one must not overstay his welcome. That was why I stepped down,” said Dr Mahathir, who stepped down as prime minister in 2003 after being in power for 22 years.
“He has served longer than me and he has set record. I think with that kind of record he should be satisfied,” he added.
On the accusation that Umno was trying to politically assassinate Samy Vellu, Dr Mahathir said those who made the accusation must provide evidence.
“He has to give convincing evidence that Umno is involved,” said the former Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman.
Samy Vellu has been under pressure to step down after expelled MIC deputy Youth chief V. Mugilan launched an anti-Samy Vellu campaign called GAS.
Mugilan, who plans to hold a large gathering this weekend to force Samy Vellu to resign, has been accused of working for Umno.
Samy Vellu’s son Vell Paari had also alleged that Umno is behind the move to oust Samy Vellu, an accusation that was dismissed by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who described Vell Paari as insolent.
The accusation was also repeated by MIC Youth chief T. Mohan, who had asked the party to reconsider its position in BN.
Samy Vellu, who took over the MIC presidency from the late Tan Sri V. Manickavasagam 31 years ago, had promised to step down “seven or eight months” before his term expires in March 2012, to pave the way for his deputy Datuk G. Palanivel to become the president.
The plan, however, was opposed by Mugilan, who wanted Samy Vellu to leave by the end of the year, which resulted in his sacking.
Apart from Mugilan, three CWC members — K.P. Samy, Kumar Amman and V. Subramaniam (or Bharat Maniam) — have been sacked for questioning Samy Vellu’s retirement plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment