Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the premier political party representing the ethnic Indian community in Malaysia, has turned 60.
Speaking at a celebratory dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel here Wednesday, MIC president Samy Vellu called upon the country's young citizens to remember the contributions made by the party's leaders down the years, said a report in the Malaysia Star newspaper.
"We hope the history books will have these facts and that of those who were involved in the country's independence," the report quoted him as saying.
Paying tributes to MIC's past presidents, Vellu said that the MIC is no longer a political party but a political institution.
"Today, MIC has more than 4,000 branches with a total of 650,000 members," another report by Bernama news agency quoted him as saying.
The party, he said, would continue to implement programmes beneficial for the Indian community.
"Apart from that, MIC will continue to spread its wings by registering more members, especially from the younger generation, and open new branches."
The party is planning to celebrate its 60th anniversary with a series of month-long programmes starting with Wednesday's celebratory dinner.
Founded in August 1946 to fight British colonial rule and representing the ethnic Indian community in the political field in that country, MIC is part of the Barisan Nasional, the political coalition that has been ruling Malaysia uninterrupted since independence in 1957.
Though India's ties with Malaysia date back to the pre-Christian days, major migration of Indians to Malaysia started in the early 19th century.
These people mainly went to work as labourers in coffee and rubber plantations there during the time of British colonial rule. Most of these people were Tamils.
Today, the descendants of those Indians comprise seven percent of Malaysia's total population of around 24 million.
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