He was a member and served as 7th President of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, from October 1979 to December 2010.

[2] Former MCA president Ling Liong Sik described Samy Vellu as a man of many talents and with a great sense of humour.

[3] Samy Vellu's political career began at the age of 23, in 1959, when he and Govindaraj joined the Batu Caves MIC branch.

Samy Vellu was appointed Malaysia's Special Envoy of Infrastructure to India and Southern Asia, with ministerial rank, since 1 January 2011.

A Legacy written by Bernice Narayanan reveals Samy Vellu's achievements and setbacks as well as "behind-the-scenes" events in his almost 50 years of active politics.