S.A.VigneswaranChairman, Malaysian Indian Youth Development Foundation (MIYDF)

AGAIN, THE RM100 MILLION SURFACES!

This time, it might be in the benefit of the Indian community.

I am member of Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) which is a company limited by guarantee pursuant to Companies Act 1965. I received a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of MIED on 27^th March 2009 after I requested a copy from MIED’s Company Secretary through my solicitors on 5^th March 2009.

The following statement is made after due consultation with my Accountant and Solicitor.

Any misuse of public funds, particularly when those monies that were given by government and public as government grants and donations intended to support a marginalized community, is unacceptable.

The objective of the establishment of MIED as per Article 3 of the Memorandum of Association states, “to receive and administer funds for education, scientific and charitable purposes, all for the public welfare and for no other purposes and to this end: (a) to foster, develop and improve education of all kinds and in such manner as may, from time to time, be decided upon by the Institute including but without prejudice to the generality of this provision, the founding and maintaining of scholarships, provided that it does not contravene the provision of the Education of Law of Malaysia; (g) to assist, aid and give relief to the poor and needy who by reason of age, ill-health, misfortune or infirmity are wholly or in part unable  to maintain themselves and their dependents by their own exertions and in particular widows and orphans, victims of fire, floods, famine, war or calamity and those in need of moral or social rehabilitation or welfare” (emphasis added).

There are no other provisions as regards giving of any study loans. Any disbursements of money to the needy are ONLY by way of scholarship or grants.

The reality of disbursements in MIED

A total sum close to RM100million has been disbursed as study loans to almost 10,000 students with an accruing interest at the rate of 6% per annum. This interest is charged on an annual basis commencing from the 6th month after completion of the studies funded through MIED. From 2008, an additional interest of 2% per annum is charged from the time the loan is disbursed and the 6% upon completion of the course till the loan is settled.

1.                MIED is not authorized to give any study loan but only scholarships under its own Memorandum of Association.

2.                To give any loan, with interest, whether study loan or otherwise requires a money lending license without which it becomes illegal. Todate, MIED does not have any money lending license. Therefore, all monies collected with interest is illegal.

3.                All monies collected with interests are taxable. Failing to pay tax is another breach of the law and failing to declare the interest as an income is evading tax and illegal.

4.                In an Institution such as MIED, a Section 24 company under the Companies Act 1965 which has acquired a Tax Exemption status, it must disburse all funds received for its intended purposes (like donations and grants) within 18 months. Failing to do so, the income is deemed taxable and if the monies are placed in Fixed Deposits (like the millions collected as government grants and donations were and are kept) as in the case of MIED, becomes taxable. Failing to declare and pay tax on such accrued gains are again illegal.

5.                MIED has and is violating its own Memorandum and the Malaysian Law.

Dato Seri S. Samy Vellu, MIED Board of Trustees, MIED’s Company Secretary and MIED’s Auditors should take responsibility for these unacceptable acts and omissions, where not a single members meeting was held except for signatures collected during the MIC’s Central Working Committee (CWC) Meetings since the inception of MIED in 1984.  Prior to January 2009, MIED’s Board last met in 2003.  

SA Vigneswaran

(019-3832281)

Opposition party PAS today invited former MIC Youth chief SA Vigneswaran, who had quit the BN-based party on Sunday, to come and join it along with his supporters.
MCPX

The invitation was made through the PAS Supporters’ Club today. Vigneswaran and several other youth leaders had severed their ties with MIC after having a fall out with the party’s veteran president S Samy Vellu.

“Let us join forces and battle for equality and justice for all races in this country,” said PAS national committee for unity chief Khariul Faizi Ahmad Kamil in a statement today,

Khariul also welcomed other MIC members to join PAS.

sa vigneswaran, Besides Vigneswaran, other prominent figures that left MIC are Kedah branch Youth chief R Nantha Kumar, secretary TM Ganesan, treasurer M Selvan and information head S Somasunther.

Their move came after MIC head Samy Vellu asked Vigneswaran, who is 42, to resign from the youth chief post as he had exceeded the party constitutional age limit of 40.

Vigneswaran had first refused step down and insisted he would finish his term in office – until next party elections next March – before doing so.

However on Sunday, stating that he has not support to go against the president, Vigneswaran decided to leave the party altogether.

‘More will leave’

In his statement today, Khariul further elaborated that more will quit or move from the Indian-based BN component party because of a raging internal crisis and the unreasonable attitude of Samy Vellu.

“Vigneswaran’s drastic decision to terminate all affiliations with the party was simply because he lost confidence in Samy Vellu’s leadership,” said Khariul.

According to Khariul, MIC Kedah Youth leader Nantha Kumar believed a conspiracy had taken place at the highest level in the party in order to oust Vigneswaran. Read more …..

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC Youth chief S. Vigneswaran, who has been asked to vacate his post, said the party’s constitution did not say that a youth leader must give up his position on reaching the age of 41.

He said Act 20.2 4A and 4B only stated that one could contest for the post of youth chief up to the age of 41.

“Moreover, Article 47 states that all elected leaders shall stay in office for three years. Nowhere in the constitution does it say that a youth leader must leave when he reaches his 41st birthday,” he said.

On Friday, MIC secretary-general Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam was quoted as saying that the party’s constitution clearly stated that a youth leader or a member in the youth wing should not exceed the age of 40.

“This means that when they reach their 41st birthday, they need to vacate their positions in the youth wing,” Dr Subramaniam, who is Human Resources Minister, had said.

However, a central working committee (CWC) member had commented that although the constitution was unclear on the age ruling, it had been decided at a CWC meeting in 2001 that everyone in the youth wing should vacate their posts on reaching 41.

Some members believed that the move to ask Vigneswaran to vacate his post was politically motivated. They claimed it was initiated by party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu to “kill off” Vigneswaran.

Vigneswaran, who used to be Samy Vellu’s blue-eyed boy, was said to have fallen out of favour with the president. A source said the rift between the two could have started over the selection of the candidate for the Ijok by-election last year.

Others said Vigneswaran was aligned to deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel and was unhappy over former deputy Datuk S. Subramaniam making a comeback.

It is said that Vigneswaran had hoped that Palanivel would become the next party president and he would be the deputy. With Subramaniam back in mainstream politics, his hopes had been dashed.

Sources claimed that Vigneswaran was upset as there was no clear plan of succession and there had been confusion among members following the return of Subramaniam.

He was also said to have instigated “Jumbo” Maniam and Alex Thiagarasan to question Samy Vellu.

Vigneswaran said the rumour could have started because he was against the expulsion of “Jumbo” Maniam. “Jumbo” and Alex, whom he had recruited into MIC from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) years ago, are also friends.

Denying all the accusations hurled at him, Vigneswaran said he had always been a party loyalist.

He also denied being involved with a rumoured Makkal Sakthi-linked rally aimed at pressuring Samy Vellu to step down.

Vigneswaran said if he was going against Samy Vellu, he did not need the support of Makkal Sakthi.

“I have my own force but I am not willing to do it because I am loyal to the party,” he said, adding that his suspicion was that someone from within MIC was trying get him into trouble.

By : Suganthi Suparmaniam and R. S. Kamini. Source : NST