Samy Vellu
Tun Samy Vellu s/o Sangalimuthu (; born 8 March 1936) is a Malaysian politician 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 (MIC), a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, from  October 1979 to December 2010. He is the longest-serving MIC president by holding the position for 31 years and one of the longest-serving Cabinet ministers by being in the Cabinet for 29 years. In December 2010, he announced his retirement from politics, paving the way for then MIC Deputy President G. Palanivel to succeed him as the new party president. 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 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 (PSM) but 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 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 (PH) government in 2018. Personal life. Vellu  was born in Kluang, Johor, and is of Indian descent. Vellu is married to Indrani Samy Vellu, who is also active in socio-political and various non-governmental organisations. He 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. Professional qualification . He is a chartered architect and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and of the Malaysian Institute of Architect. Biography book. "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. See also. Sungai Siput (federal constituency)