I refer to the Malaysiakini report PM offers olive branch with Thaipusam holiday.

It must have been a great scene – 15,000 Indians from all over the country packing the Cheras Badminton Stadium in Kuala Lumpur and greeting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi with a thunderous standing ovation and bursting into applause at his declaration that Thaipusam is now a public holiday for the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

It must have been indeed a great morale booster for the prime minister and more so for MIC president S Samy Vellu whose credibility has been seriously undermined since the Hindaf rally last November.

We are told that busloads of people were ferried to the stadium, entertained by singers, served with food and drinks. I wonder how many of them would have really turned out for ‘An evening with the Prime Minister’ if they were subjected to the same conditions as the Hindraf protesters were to on Nov 25 – own transport, police intimidation, tear gas, water canons, arrests and imprisonment?

By granting a public holiday for Thaipusam, the government and MIC hope the problems of the Indian community will be overcome at least for another five years. Is the Indian community so naïve as to believe this simplistic solution to their problems? If that is so, then the Hindraf leaders must be stupid for having resorted to their actions which ended up with them being branded as terrorists and jailed under the ISA.

The problems of the Indians are more complex and deep-rooted than to be just solved by declaring Thaipusam a public holiday. The pathetic state of the Indians is due to the accumulated effects of their marginalisation in the government and private sectors for 50 years. They have been systematically denied their dues under the pretext of restructuring society.

The PM says he had to make it a holiday more because of the massive traffic jams that occur on Thaipusam day in the federal capital, rather than giving in to the demands of the Indian community. Furthermore, he dare not even declare it a national holiday as requested by the MIC and others for more than 10 years. Most Malaysians believe this gesture is more of a political gimmick coming at a time of general elections.

What the Indian community needs now is not another public holiday. What they need are fair opportunities for education, training, jobs and businesses. They also need fair opportunities in the civil service, police and armed forces. Selection for recruitment into these institutions and admissions to public universities must be based strictly on merit. They want freedom to practice their culture and religion without official impediments.

In short, they want to be treated with respect and dignity as equal citizens in the country they helped to develop. Is this too much to ask from a government they helped to elect and stood by with for 50 years?