LETTERS: Tun S. Samy Vellu who passed away today, always had this to say to me, "I am not just your boss, but a friend too". Just like the Indian movie icon Rajini, Tun Samy Vellu also started his career as a bus conductor and went on to become a household name.
Before he passed away in the wee hours of the morning in his sleep, a few hours earlier, he wanted his driver to take him on a short drive. I could not believe that that was his last wish.
I have known this legend personally and having served him as his aide for the past 34 years in various capacities, serving as his special officer at the MIC headquarters in 1988 immediately after graduating from UKM, then becoming his press secretary from 2002 to 2008 when he was Works Minister and his principal private secretary from 2010 to 2018 during which he was the Special Envoy to India and South Asia for Infrastructure.
Some of the things that we did together when we were on official duties overseas include helping him to press (iron) his shirts. Though he could have handed them over to be done by the hotel where we stayed, he had always wanted to do his own stuff so that he will get it right.
Like in the case of pressing his shirts, he will want to make sure that it is pressed correctly especially the sleeves. "You have to make sure that there is a straight line on the sleeves when you press…" is what he will tell me when I hold the shirt while he presses the shirts and it will take hours at times.
His penchant for designer suites (Brioni) made him stand out among his former cabinet colleagues. He has to start his day with a cup of cappuccino. It is true that he has a temper but he will only take it out on the people he likes and cared.
Never a day goes by without him emptying his pocket when someone or groups of people mostly the poor, pay him a visit for some assistance. What is for sure is that he had a soft heart for the poor.
When travelling with him in his Mercedes Benz (he always goes for a Benz car), he will joke with me about what people comment on his command of the Malay language. He takes it in his stride and will always tell me that I should not be upset as for him, the people are his boss, his masters.
He shared an incident with his former boss, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when he was the prime minister. During a cabinet meeting, Tun Samy Vellu had requested for additional allocation from the prime minister for the development of the Indian community.
Initially when the request was rejected, Tun Samy Vellu got up from his seat and rushed out to the restroom. Tun Mahathir had to send the late Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik to "pacify" Tun Samy Vellu and bring him back. And Tun Samy Vellu finally got what he wanted from Tun Mahathir.
It was Tun Samy Vellu's strategy to get matters done for his community. The "Man of Steel", the father of Malaysian highways, is no more but his legacy lives on.
I bid him farewell.
DATUK E. SIVABALAN
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times
