MIC president wants to mainstream Indians through UMNO but its UMNO through its racial policies keep the various Malaysian races sub streamed. After being rejected by Malaysian Indians in March 2008, MIC is trying to reposition but their political master UMNO couldn’t be bothered about their political predicament. It’s Ketuanan Melayu mindset of UMNO that MIC must handle to reinvent itself. UMNO benefited from Malaysian Indians labor and sweat and later chucked them to ghettos and low cost flats. MIC has not learned from past mistakes. The incorrigible Dato G.Palanivel and MIC diehards are still counting on racist UMNO to rescue Malaysian Indians. UMNO will not lift a finger to help Malaysian Indians. All the sweat words of 1Malaysia are only to secure Indian votes.
Prime Minister started enticing Malaysian Indians directly with handouts and feel good sweet words like 1Malaysia but no policy change to accommodate Malaysian Indians into the mainstream bureaucracy. A few well established organizations received a few million Ringgits from the Prime Minister Office but the families in slum areas and low cost flats received nothing. These folks will only received RM50 hamper during by elections, if they have one. Even if the prime minister agrees to give out of political expediency, the bureaucracy will not support. The annual PSD scholarship award to SPM students this year, is crystal clear evidence that nothing has changed even after the march 2008 election set back. UMNO has not changed therefore it has to be got rid of.
After all the big talk that Tamil schools get bigger allocation from ministry education, there is no change on the ground. Many schools do not have proper infrastructure to operate as schools. In Selangor, the 97 Tamil schools are appealing to state government for classrooms, tables, chairs, computers, toilets etc. besides requesting to pay initial school fees for Tamil school students. While some schools get tables and chairs from ministry of education many others don’t. The Selangor state government started building preschool classes after 2008 and now the ministry of education wants to build. There is no policy with regards to Tamil school in education of ministry. It’s all vote buying at the end of the day.
Tamil schools were the political base far too long for MIC. This stranglehold of MIC has made many Tamil schools headmasters and teachers fearful, subdued and find fault among their own community itself. MIC and its cohorts in Tamil schools blame the community and not UMNO for its shortcomings and various social problems. I can see changes within Tamil schools in Selangor. But of course changes will take time and by that time other community will have moved far ahead. Therefore the gap between Indian community and other communities will remain.
Without any change in the socio-political framework, what up-streaming is MIC president talking about? It’s all hot air and empty talk to please their political masters. In private they too complain about UMNO. MIC is beholden to UMNO far too long for it to change. The Prime Minister with his own small Indian affairs department within his office is approaching the Indian community directly. MIC is only needed to be the go along and front face for the prime minister’s direct approach. Indian community is not the Indian chamber of commerce, divine life society, Temple of fine arts, Malayalee or Telegu associations, but the hundreds of thousands of dwellers in PPR flats, low cost flats, squatters in slum and other struggling working people who need scholarships for their children, job opportunities, income generating openings etc. It’s they who dump BN and not the elite business and cultural and religious organizations. The handout and empty promises during by elections are not indicators of Indians votes moving towards BN. MIC/BN and can fool them sometimes but not all the time.
Senator S.Ramakrishnan
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