I call on Keadilan, DAP and even the Chinese education group Dong Jiao Zong to reach out and work with our neglected Indian brethren.

Education is the cornerstone of nation building as well as the life blood of a community, I suggest the Indian community start with its education system.

Unlike the education ministry which seems to have a different policy under each minister, as MGG pointed out[#1]Vision School - more than meets the eye, Nov 30)[/#] Dong Jiao Zong's consistency is far better when compared with the ministry's bureaucratic inefficiency and arbitrariness.

Perhaps before the ministry thinks of new schemes to improve our education system, they should reacquaint themselves with the wisdom of our forefathers instead of imploring others to ignore history.

The latest fad is none other than the Vision School project. The government's proposal is nothing more than a band-aid solution to handle a haemorrhagic problem. They hope the people won't know better and will swallow whatever they shove down our throats.

How can they expect a superficial solution of putting students under one roof to reverse the effects of entrenched alienation caused by years of selectively favouring a group of students based entirely on their race? [#2](Alienated 'rakyat', Dec 1)[/#]

Dong Jiao Zong has years of experience running schools and drawing up and implementing education policies of highest standard. They have a duty to share their expertise with their Indian counterparts.

I am not suggesting that Dong Jiao Zong should replace the education ministry, but at the very least, they are a valuable complement. The Indian community has not benefitted an iota from BN governance. Their schools are neglected in nation building, yet blamed for all the woes their community faces.

If the government truly has the Indian community's welfare in mind, why weren't they invited to participate in the dialogue on Vision Schools?[#3](Tamil schools join Vision School fray,[/#] Nov 18).

The Indians will continue to lose out and be marginalised if they continue to bank on the increasingly old and irrelevant horse called BN.

One ought to have a foresight and always have the entire community's long-term prospects in mind. If we choose short-term gains over long-term development, we may end up losing more than what we have gained.

The Malays have their religion, the Chinese, their education. The Indians must find something that all of them can agree on to unite the community. At stake is nothing short of the survival of the entire community.

If DAP truly has the Indians' welfare in mind, it should actively participate in improving their living conditions. Fielding an Indian candidate in a by-election, once in a while, to spite their opponents doesn't gain them any political mileage.