Elections & Samy - By Lat

The Hindu - News Update 8th March 2008
Kuala Lumpur (PTI): 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.
Vellu, chief of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), turned 72 on Saturday and was the Works Minister in Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's Cabinet.
An official announcement on Vellu losing from his Sungei Siput parliamentary seat in Perak state has not been announced by the Election Commission as yet.
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 ire of the Indian community for deriding the protests led by NGO Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) against alleged racial discrimination since November last year.


The Edge - 13th March 2008
13-03-2008: Samy Vellu does not want to be a senator
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu, who lost in the recent general election, said he would hold on to his party post but will decline if offered the position of a senator.
“I don’t want to be a senator. I don’t want to be a minister through a senator post,” he told a press conference at the MIC headquarters here yesterday.
Samy Vellu said he accepted the decision made by the Singai Siput constituents and would now focus on rebuilding the MIC and reuniting the Indian community.
... He refused to comment on former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s claims in an interview with Malaysiakini that he (Samy Vellu) stifled the voice of the Indian community.
“I don’t want to talk about him. Enough. I thank him.”