This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on December 18, 2019 - December 24, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Tun S Samy Vellu’s ‘mistress’ Meeriam Rosaline Edward Paul is seeking to intervene in Datuk Seri S Vell Paari’s application to have Samy Vellu’s mental health determined by the court.

High Court Judge Datuk Ahmad Bache then decided that yesterday’s hearing for Vell Paari’s application to be heard at another date to facilitate Meeriam on application to intervene be heard.

Meeriam’s lawyer RSN Rayer said as far as his client is concerned the former senior minister is mentally fit and healthy.

“For this reason, we had filed an application to intervene last Friday and the sealed copies of the document being given to Vell Paari and Samy Vellu’s lawyers yesterday evening,” he told reporters.

Meeriam, 59, told reporters that she is here to see her “husband” and is fighting for justice.

She had filed a suit against Vell Paari, 57, and Samy Vellu following a stop in the payment of her maintenance fee since last year.

Vell Paari was represented by Datuk David Matthew, who confirmed that a case management date has been fixed on Jan 7.

It was previously reported last week that Vell Paari filed an originating summons on Dec 2, wanting the court to conduct an inquiry under Section 52 of the Mental Health Act 2001, to determine the former MIC president and former long-time works minister’s mental health.

Meeriam, meanwhile, had filed a separate originating summons in August this year at the Ipoh High Court to declare that she has been in a quasi-spousal union with the former long-time MIC president since Aug 23, 1981.