Samy Vellu s/o Sangalimuthu, ; is a Malaysian Indian politician. He is the seventh president and the longest-serving President of the Malaysian Indian Congress, a component party of the Barisan Nasional coalition, holding the position from 1979 to 2010, for 11 consecutive terms. Beginning in 1979, he held a succession of ministerial portfolios in the Cabinet of Malaysia, including two long stints as Minister of Works, until he lost his parliamentary seat in the 2008 general election; by that time he was the longest-serving minister in the Cabinet. He subsequently announced his intended retirement in December 2010, paving the way for his deputy G. Palanivel to succeed him as party leader.
Political career
Samy Vellu's political career began at the age of 23, in 1959, when he and Govindaraj joined the Batu CavesMIC branch. After five years, he was elected Selangor MIC committee member and the head of the party. He made headlines news by climbing up the Indonesian embassy's flag pole, pulling down the flag and burning it. He was charged in court and fined RM2. He was called Hero Malaysia on the front pages. He was a Member of Parliament for Sungai Siput constituency for eight terms from September 1974 to March 2008. During this time, from 1978 to 1979 he was Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing. Then from 1979 to 1989 he was Minister of Works. He then served as Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts from 1989 to 1995. From 1995 to March 2008 he was the Minister of Works until he lost his parliamentary seat to Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj of the Socialist Party of Malaysia but contested on the ticket of the People's Justice Party in the March 2008 general election. He was the second longest serving minister in the country during his times, after Rafidah Aziz. Samy Vellu was appointed as Malaysia's Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and Southern Asia, with ministerial rank, since 1 January 2011. The appointment was terminated by the new Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.
Family
Samy Vellu is married to Indrani Samy Vellu, who is also active in socio-political and various non-governmental organisations. Samy Vellu has one son, Vell Paari, who currently manages MAIKA Holdings and was advisor of Putera MIC and MIC Youth. He had also been appointed as Chairman of Unity and Community Development of MIC by its Central Working Committee. His daughter-in-law, Shaila Nair, was also active in Puteri MIC, a special wing of MIC dedicated to Indian women of Malaysia who are below 35 years of age.
"A Life. A Legend. A Legacy" written by award-winning author Bernice Narayanan reveals Samy Vellu's greatest achievements and setbacks as well as "behind-the-scenes" events in his almost 50 years of active politics. The biography was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
