Before I pen down on my views and suggestions on the issue of Maika Holdings, allow me to confirm that I am not a shareholder and neither are my immediate family members.

However, I am taking it upon myself to speak out on behalf of my Indian brothers and sisters in the country. The whole Maika Holdings shares issue must be never be forgotten.

Maika Holdings, touted as an economic vehicle and a miracle to lift the Indians from the shackles of poverty, was launched amidst much hype and hope.

The poor Indians - traditional MIC supporters, the lower middle-class and the working class Indians, as well as a vast majority of plantation workers - were mesmerised into responding enthusiastically to the birth of Maika Holdings.

The poor plantation workers put their life savings into the venture, some scraping the bottom of the barrel, others mortgaging their property and pawning the last of their jewellery. A vast majority also took loans at exorbitant rates to invest in a venture that promised dreams, hopes and tantalising prospects.

Today, Maika Holdings seems to have become the lost treasure of the Indians in this country. Almost 66,400 shareholders are being left in limbo without much information of how and where this great Indian treasure has gone.

This issue needs to be addressed by all the Indians in Malaysia. The time has come for Indians to wake up from their MIC-induced slumber and demand for answers.

We have constantly been told that action is being taken to solve this problem. But what did lawful shareholders of Maika Holdings get the last time there was a meeting on the issue? Nothing but pain and sorrow, that’s what. The new dawn of a golden opportunity that was promised to the Indian poor never arrived.

Instead, each passing year only witnessed dashed hopes and broken promises that littered the broken history of Maika. Many of the investors have since passed away, their spirits broken by the betrayal of the leader they trusted.

We have braved the debate between Anwar Ibrahim and Shabery Cheek on the petrol price hike. We also saw the much highlighted land scam issue in Penang being debated by Lim Guan Eng and Koh Tsu Koon recently.

The time has come for MIC president S Samy Vellu and M Kulasegaran, the DAP MP for Ipoh Barat to meet face to face too discuss the Maika Holdings issue in an open debate.

The best men to represent Maika Holdings is Samy Vellu, who has handled the whole issue on behalf of the shareholders. The man who can be the voice of the affected Malaysian Indians is Kulasegaran.

The ACA who has been alerted of this issue numerous times, has instead chosen to keep silent. Could it be because of the involvement of several high profile government figures? If the ACA is too afraid to act, the next best thing is an open debate so that the fate of the long-suffering Indians in Malaysia can de decided once and for all.

After 25 years, the Maika scandal refuses to be buried. It keeps on resurfacing, haunting and reminding the poor of the raw deal handed to them.

The entire Indian community now awaits the responses of Samy Velu and Kulasegaran, for only they can uncover the truth and put to rest this painful issue once and for all. I honestly feel that once the Maika Holdings scandal settled, Malaysian Indians will be able to really move ahead.

Last but not least, I would like to make an honest appeal to all the leaders of Maika Holdings: there are many qualities that make a great leader.

But having strong beliefs and being able to stick with them are the most important characteristic of a great leader. Please don’t let down the Indians again.