Samy Vellu was happy during his last days - Son

KUALA LUMPUR: Former MIC president Tun S. Samy Vellu was happy as he spent his last days with his family before he died this morning, his son, senator Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari said.

"He was in quite a jovial mood, last night he said he wanted to eat fried rice and I got to cook it to how he wanted. Pass 10 pm, he said he was tired, and we had better go back," he said as he shared intimate details of his father when met at his father's residence here today.

Vell Paari said his family was touched to see how many people came to pay their last respects to his father.

"Today, because of his service to the community, his passing is an eye-opener of how many lives he had touched.

"He was a man who just bulldozed through. He is from a time, the Mahathir era, where they were a different breed of people who just got the job done," he said.

Samy Vellu died at 6 am today and many former political leaders came to pay their respects, some of whom described him as an irreplaceable leader whose passing was a huge loss to the country.

Senior Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said Samy Vellu was a leader who did not consider different races in his struggle and should be emulated by future generations.

"It is a big loss to me personally as I knew Tun when my father became prime minister till the time I myself served in the Cabinet alongside with him," he said.

Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan shared that Samy Vellu had changed the country's development landscape during his tenure as Public Works Minister, while Bernama chairman, senator Datuk Ras Adiba Mohd Radzi talked about her encounters with him during her time as a journalist.

She said even though he looked like a very serious person, Samy Vellu actually was one who loved to joke around.

"There was this one time at Parliament when we were rushing to get a quote, and he stopped us and told us, don't run, you'll fall. I'm here, and I'm not going to run away," she said.

The leaders from across the political spectrum who came to pay their respects included DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng, who said that Samy Vellu was a leader who did not take political differences into account when carrying out his ministerial duties.

"Despite our political differences, we can never doubt that he cared. He cared about many things, we always appreciated what he did even though we are on opposite sides," he said.

Samy Vellu's remains will be brought to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall Crematorium in Cheras at 4 pm tomorrow for cremation.

-- BERNAMA