Samy Vellu happy with Govt’s recognition of his service

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Special Envoy on Infrastructure to India and South Asia Tun S. Samy Vellu, who was conferred the Seri Setia Mahkota (SSM) award, said he was very happy with the recognition from the Malaysian Government.

“I have worked with the Government for almost 39 years and I love to work with the Government, with the leader, the Prime Minister and others, all of them had treated me very well,” he said.

The 81-year-old was appointed envoy on Jan 1, 2011, and was the longest-serving Cabinet minister, starting as Minister of Public Works and Utilities in 1979 and leaving as Works Minister in 2008.

He started in politics in 1959 as a member of the Batu Caves MIC branch and steadily progressed in his political career and became the acting MIC president in 1979.

He subsequently became and continued being re-elected as president until he quit in 2010.

Samy Vellu was conferred the award and followed in the footsteps of the fifth MIC president Tun V. T. Sambanthan who was conferred a similar award in 1967.

Communication and Multimedia Ministry (KKMM) secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Sharifah Zarah Syed Ahmad said the Darjah Panglima Setia Mahkota (PSM) award she received was not her individual success, but rather a result of the support and cooperation she received from various quarters.

She said the support from family members and dedicated staff, either at the KKMM or other ministries and departments where she had worked before, had made the success possible.

Dr Sharifah Zarah was among the 47 recipients of the PSM award today. Meanwhile, Public Service director-general Tan Sri Zainal Rahim Seman, who also received the PSM award, thanked the Government, especially Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa.

“I have been in government service for over 34 years.

“This award is indeed the highest recognition one can get as a testimony to his or her contribution in implementing all the Government’s initiatives,” he said.