COMMENT BY PROF DR P.RAMASAMY,
INTERIM COUNCIL CHAIRMAN OF URIMAI PARTY
If Mitra is failure, moving departments is inconsequential
Two days ago, a reporter asked me whether it is good thing for the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) to be placed under the Ministry of National Unity or it should remain in the Prime Minister’s Department.
I replied, saying that it not the question of moving Mitra from one department to another. Moving the agency doesn’t alter certain fundamental facts of Mitra. Mitra which originated as under the BN era, is poor example of an affirmative action programme.
In this country, affirmative action is used and manipulated to camouflage the blatent racist policies of the present and past governments in power. If at all pittance are dished out to the Indian community or others, it is just for the sake of publicity.
If billions are spent on the Bumiputra community in the name of affirmative action, RM100 million given to Mitra is nothing but a tiny drop in the vast ocean.
When there is so little is allocated to the Indian community, how can Mitra alter the socio-economic landscape of the poor Indians. The unpleasant experience of siphoning out of funds by some unscrupulous companies and individuals have cost Mitra the trust and legitimacy of the Indian community.
To start off, RM100 million is nothing but peanuts to the Indian community. Recently, a portion of the funds have been allocated to parliamentary constituencies with sizeable Indian presence.
As they say in Tamil, it is like whatever begged by Perumal, they have been stolen by Hanuman ( monkey). Mitra represents a poor and pathetic example of a government agency to pull the wool over the eyes of the Indian community.
The conscious attempt to keep the focus on Mitra prevents the community from looking at other ares for their socio-economic development.
Mitra is an example of the false consciousness of the Indian community. Moving Mitra from one department to another is not going to alter the basic and fundamental fact of the serious nature of the inadequacy of funds.
Indian leaders who are entrusted with the administration of Mitra are the yes-men or sycophants of the present Madani regime. As long as Malay hegemonic governments exist in the country including the Madani version under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Indians can say goodbye to government assisted financial programmes.
Anwar, despite all his drama, he is chameleon par excellence. He will bend over backwards to assist the Malays but not the poor Indians.
To those who continue to place hopes on Anwar, I can only pity them for their subservience and servility.
What difference does it make whether Mitra is moved or not?
