MIC urges Govt to reconsider appeals of 187 students
By A. LETCHUMANAN


KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC has appealed to the government to reconsider the appeal of 187 Malaysian Indian excellent students who were unsuccessful in their applications for the Public Services Department (PSD) scholarships for overseas programmes this year.

Party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said he had made the appeal during a meeting with the Chief Secretary to the Government. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan Wednesday.

He said of the 187 students, three had scored 12 A1s, seven (11 A1s), 68 (10 A1s), 66 (9 A1s) and 43 (8A1s) in the 2007 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination.

“I explained to Sidek on the need to help these students. This was in line with the MIC’s aspiration to create at least two professionals in every Indian family in the country,” he said.

Samy Vellu said the Chief Secretary was very receptive and has promised to do his best to help these students who had excelled in their studies.

He said this year, only 72 Indian students received PSD scholarship of the 2,000 scholarships reportedly offered.

Samy Vellu said MIC Secretary-General Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, who is also Human Resources Minister, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department S.K. Devamany and MIC Education Bureau chief Prof Datuk T. Marimuthu will also meet PSD director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam on the matter.

He said the MIC is taking a two-pronged approach to solve this problem as the party believed many students in the list of 187 students will be reconsidered.

He also urged students, who had appealed through MIC, to inform the party headquarters if they had received fresh offers for scholarship from the government.