Kuala Lumpur, May 12
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Tuesday congratulated the actor-turned-politician C Joseph Vijay on being elected as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, as his newly formed party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, recorded massive electoral gains in the recently concluded state assembly polls.
In a post on X, Ibrahim extended his wishes to Vijay and highlighted the deep cultural and historical ties shared between Malaysia and Tamil Nadu.
The Malaysian Prime Minister mentioned a song called "Oru Viral Puratchi" from Vijay's film Sarkar in his post, which means "one-finger revolution" representing a peaceful and democratic movement against corruption through the power of voting, noting that the revolution is on the "cusp of creating history".
"I warmly congratulate my friend Vijay on being elected Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. For many years, his adoring fans watched him defeat corrupt politicians and assorted villains within three hours, usually after a short interval. The people of Tamil Nadu have now entrusted Vijay with a responsibility far greater than any role performed on screen," the Malaysian Prime Minister stated in his post.
"Oru Viral Puratchi -- the 'one-finger revolution' -- is now on the cusp of creating history," he added.
Ibrahim further emphasised the longstanding relationship between Malaysia and Tamil Nadu and expressed hope for closer cooperation in the future.
"Malaysia and Tamil Nadu share deep historical, cultural and people-to-people ties across generations. I look forward to working closely with Chief Minister Vijay in the years ahead," the post read.
Malaysia is home to nearly 185,000 Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), including both skilled and unskilled workers, while the Indian expatriate community in the country is estimated at around 25,000.
In total, the population of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) in Malaysia stands at approximately 2.75 million, accounting for nearly 6.8 per cent of the country's population, making it the third-largest Indian diaspora globally.
Around 90 per cent of the Indian-origin community in Malaysia speaks Tamil, while others speak languages such as Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi.
On Sunday, Vijay took the oath as the 13th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu following his majestic success in debut elections.
The oath was administered by Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar; meanwhile, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Vijay's parents, actress Trisha Krishna and others were present to embrace the occasion.
The 2026 Tamil Nadu elections were registered in history books after the state declared an unprecedented mandate for Vijay. While TVK ended up winning 108 out of 234 seats in its maiden political stint, it was for the first time in the history of state politics that both legacy 'Dravidian' parties were ousted from power.
However, Vijay couldn't attain a majority on its own and was later offered support by Congress (5), CPI-M (2), CPI (2), VCK (2) and IUML (2), which were earlier the allies of the Secular Progressive Alliance led by DMK.
Although the TVK was launched in 2024, he has been looked at as a social worker and has not been apolitical, given his films, which dealt with the drug menace, corruption and other socio-political issues. While there has been speculation of him entering politics since 2009, Vijay has involved himself in social work.
- ANI
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