Samy Vellu s/o Sangalimuthu (; 8 March 1936 – 15 September 2022) was a Malaysian

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as Minister of Works from June 1983 to June 1989 and again from May 1995 to March 2008, Minister of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts from June 1989 to May 1995, Minister of Works and Public Amenities from September 1979 to June 1983 and Member of Parliament (MP) for Sungai Siput from September 1974 to March 2008. He was a member and served as 7th President of the

Malaysian Indian Congress The Malaysian Indian Congress ( abbrev: MIC; )，formerly known as Malayan Indian Congress, is a Malaysian political party. It is one of the founding members of the coalition Barisan Nasional, previously known as the Alliance, which was in pow ...

(MIC), a component party of the ruling

Barisan Nasional Barisan Nasional (BN; ) is a political coalition of Malaysia that was founded in 1974 as a coalition of centre-right and right-wing political parties to succeed the Alliance Party. It is the third largest political coalition with 30 seats in ...

(BN) coalition, from October 1979 to December 2010. He is the longest-serving MIC president having held the position for 31 years and one of the longest-serving Cabinet ministers at 29 years. In December 2010, he announced his retirement from politics, paving the way for then MIC Deputy President Palanivel Govindasamy to succeed him as the new party president. Former MCA president Ling Liong Sik described Samy Vellu as a man of many talents and with a great sense of humour.

Political career

Samy Vellu's political career began at the age of 23, in 1959, when he and Govindaraj joined the Batu Caves MIC branch. After five years, he was elected Selangor MIC committee member and the head of the party. He made headline 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 Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj (Tamil: மைக்கல் ஜெயகுமார்) (born 28 March 1955) is a Malaysian politician who is currently the chairperson of Socialist Party of Malaysia. He served in the Parliament of Malaysia as Me ...

of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) who contested on the ticket of the People's Justice Party (PKR) in the March 2008 general election. He was the second longest serving minister in the country during his time, after Rafidah Aziz. Samy Vellu was appointed Malaysia's

Special Envoy Diplomatic rank is a system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. A diplomat's rank determines many ceremonial details, such as the order of precedence at official processions, table seating ...

of Infrastructure to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and Southern Asia, with ministerial rank, since 1 January 2011. The appointment was terminated by the new

Pakatan Harapan Pakatan Harapan (PH; stylised as HARAPAN; ) is a Malaysian Parliamentary group, political coalition consisting of Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties which was formed in 2015 to succeed the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. It has led ...

(PH) government in 2018.

Personal life

Vellu was born in

Kluang Kluang, formerly Keluang, is a town in Kluang District, Johor, Malaysia. Kluang was founded in 1915 as the administrative capital of central Johor by the British. It is located in the centre of the state and is within 90 minutes of all major ...

Johor Johor, also spelled Johore,'' is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. It borders with Pahang, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan to the north. Johor has maritime borders with Singapore ...

, and was of Indian descent. He was married to Indrani Samy Vellu and had one son, Vell Paari. He was a chartered architect and a member of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

(RIBA) and of the Malaysian Institute of Architects.

Biography

''A Life. A Legend. A Legacy'' written by Bernice Narayanan reveals Samy Vellu's achievements and setbacks as well as "behind-the-scenes" events in his almost 50 years of active politics.

Election results

Note: ¹ & ²

amid contesting under the tickets of DAP in the

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

election and PKR in the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

elections, is a member of PSM.

Honours

Honours of Malaysia

* **

Grand Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia () is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on 15 April 1966 and gazetted on 30 June 1966 ...

(SSM) – Tun (2017) * ** MY-FED Darjah Mahkota Wilayah - Grand Knight - SUMW

Grand Knight of the Order of the Territorial Crown (SUMW) – Datuk Seri Utama (2013) * ** MY-PAH Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang - Grand Knight - SSAP

Grand Knight of the Order of Sultan Ahmad Shah of Pahang (SSAP) – Dato' Sri (2004) * ** Commander of the

Order of Cura Si Manja Kini Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * H ...

(PCM) (1978) ** Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Perak State Crown The Most Illustrious Order of the Perak State Crown ( Malay: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Negeri Perak Yang Amat Mulia'') is knighthood order of the Sultanate of Perak. Background It was founded by Sultan Yusuf Izzuddin Shah on 12 December 1957. ...

(SPMP) – Dato' Seri (1989) * ** Order of the Crown of Johor ribbon bar

Knight Grand Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Johor The Most Honourable Order of the Crown of Johor ( Malay: ''Darjah Mahkota Johor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an Order of chivalry awarded by the Sultan of Johor. It was first instituted on July 31, 1886. It is awarded in three classes: *Knight Grand Co ...

(SPMJ) – Dato' (1980) * ** MY-SAR Order of the Star of Sarawak - 2 ribbon PNBS -JBS-PBS-ABS-BBS

Knight Commander of the

Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak The ''Darjah Utama Yang Amat Mulia Bintang Sarawak'' (Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak) is the highest state order in the state of Sarawak. It is conferred to those who rendered excellent service towards the development of the state of ...

(PNBS) – Dato Sri (2003) * ** MY-SEL Order of the Crown of Selangor - Knight Commander - DPMS

Knight Commander of the

Order of the Crown of Selangor The Most Illustrious Order of the Crown of Selangor (Bahasa Melayu: ''Darjah Kebesaran Mahkota Selangor Yang Amat Mulia'') is an order awarded by Sultan of Selangor as a reward for general services to the sultan and state of Selangor. It was foun ...

(DPMS) – Dato' (1979)

Places named after him

* Jalan Tun Dr S Samy Vellu, a stretch of the Ipoh–Butterworth trunk road in Sungai Siput

Notes

References

External links

Malaysian Indian Congress' Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samy Vellu 1936 births 2022 deaths People from Kluang Malaysian architects Malaysian politicians of Tamil descent Malaysian politicians of Indian descent Presidents of Malaysian Indian Congress Malaysian Indian Congress politicians Government ministers of Malaysia Grand Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Crown of Johor Knights Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of Sarawak Knights Commander of the Order of the Crown of Selangor Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Malaysian MPs 1974–1978 Malaysian MPs 1978–1982 Malaysian MPs 1982–1986 Malaysian MPs 1986–1990 Malaysian MPs 1990–1995 Malaysian MPs 1995–1999 Malaysian MPs 1999–2004 Malaysian MPs 2004–2008