COMMENT BY PROF DR P.RAMASAMY
New Indian Political Party—Let History Judge
Existing Indian political parties have failed to effectively represent the community, the majority of them are members of the working class. The community needs a political party that is independent and composed of leaders who will be more aggressive in the pursuit of rights of Indians.
Multi-racial
The so-called multiracial political parties have failed to represent the Indian community effectively and honestly. These political parties by adopting a multiracial ideology have downplayed the ethnic, cultural and religious concerns of the community.
So much so, the multiracial politics of these parties try to hide or camouflage the problems of the Indian community. As long as these multiracial political parties were in the opposition, Indian support was needed.
This was the time that party leaders spoke of racial equality, equal rights and others. However, once these political parties came to power, the concern for the Indian community dissipated.
Inadequate leadership Indians leaders have been elected as MPs and state assemblymen from the multiracial parties.
Some of them were appointed as deputy ministers, one minister and a few members to the state executive councils.
Indians don’t hold senior positions in these parties, even if one or two hold such party positions, they are at the behest of non-Indian leaders.
No dignity
Generally speaking, Indian leaders in these political parties have no respect or dignity from non-Indian leaders. Given this, how could the Indian community hold them up in high respect.
Furthermore, how could they articulate the deeper and fundamental concerns of the community without alienating their non-Indian counterparts.
Various issues dear to community are seldom taken up at the state or federal levels.
Current Issues
Issues such as the latest amendments to the citizenship law, the unequal admissions to public universities and matriculation programmes, the lack of employment in the private and public sectors, the danger facing Tamil schools with low enrolment, the teaching of Tamil language in secondary schools and many others.
Pathetic Budget 2024
For the Budget 2024, only a pittance of RM130 million was allocated to the Indian community—RM100 million for the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) and RM30 million for Indian entrepreneurial schemes.
Such an allocation was a drop in the ocean for the Indian community. In fact, the community should have ben allocated RM2 billion considering their contributions to the country.
Unfortunately, there were Indian leaders who praised and welcomed the budget. What a shame and tragedy!
There is no need for the government of the day to throw bread crumbs at Indians. The community does not need handouts. What is needed is for the government to recognise them as citizens of the country on the basis of equal rights.
Indians do not need leaders who do not speak up bravely and forthrightly on their rights.
Surely, Indians do not need leaders who are subservient to others who have no interest towards them.
Lacuna
A new political party/movement is required to honestly and forthrightly represent the Indian community especially the downtrodden and the powerless.
The emergence of such a party or movement needs to address the lacuna in Indian representation. Such a party or movement must go beyond the narrow confines of the present narrow forms of representation to articulate the broader and deeper concerns of the community. A community that has sacrificed so much but has got so little.
Let history judge
The questions of Indians being a numerically small, heterogeneous, divisive and others have been invoked to deny the constitutional and legal right for the community to be organised and represented by a new political party or movement.
I think history will be the best judge whether the new form of representation succeeds or fails.
