KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, March 8, 2008: Samy Vellu, the lone ethnic Indian minister in the Malaysian government on Saturday suffered a shocking defeat on his birthday, losing his parliamentary seat after winning it for eight terms.
Malaysians are surveying the new political landscape a day after voters delivered a blow to the country’s half-century-old ruling coalition.
Vellu, chief of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), turned 72 on Saturday and was the Works Minister in Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi’s Cabinet. Vellu lost to opposition Partiso Sialis Malaysia (PSM) candidate Dr D. Jeyakumar, whom the ethnic Indian had defeated in the 2004 polls.
Vellu had earned the opposition of part of the Indian community for deriding the protests led by NGO Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) against alleged racial discrimination since November last year. Ethnic minorities make up more than a third of the population.