Maika’s 66,000 investors have not received returns for their RM106 million investment after 25 years and I am sure many would be willing to wait another 2-3 years if an alternative solution is provided. Maika was established in 1982 purportedly to enable Malaysian Indians to have a share in the country’s economic growth.

Closing its chapter will send them back at least another 25 years. RM1,000 is not worth what it was 25 years ago. How do we look forward to better times? The core reason for the formation of Maika was to enable the Malaysian Indians to share the economic pie of the country. However, this had failed miserably.

A white knight is generally a friendly savior that will try to maintain the company and also funnel money into it to help restore it. The issue here is really one of value to shareholders. I disagree that by paying off Maika's shareholders, the Malaysian Indian community will forge ahead with confidence.

I disagree that paying off the shareholders and closing Maika will increase their net worth. I believe that doing so will have a negative effect. Perhaps the re-engineering of Maika, both at the board and the management level, coupled with requisite help from the government, could help turnaround the company.

With the many services Maika has to offer and with G Gnanalingam’s immense experience and extensive contacts, I believe that a turnaround is possible. Many companies have experienced these turnarounds in the past - for eg, Media Prima, MRCB, NSTP, UEM, MAS etc, and are now successfully managed.

Gnanalingam could finance this exercise by tweaking his original offer. Perhaps returning 25% of shareholders' original investment amount and retaining the remaining 75% as working capital whilst maintaining Maika’s 74.1% ownership of Oriental Capital Assurance could be one alternative solution.

Absorbing MIED and Aimst into Maika could be another possibility. This could be made possible with government intervention and genuine interest (by relevant parties) in resolving Malaysian Indians' woes. This I believe will add value to shareholders, which in turn should revitalise the confidence of Malaysian Indians towards the government. It will also provide them a renewed assurance of their position in relation to the country’s economic growth.

Maika Holdings Berhad, through its subsidiaries, offers construction and civil engineering services. The company also offers satellite data communication, systems integration, application developments, e-commerce solutions and implementation and support services.

In addition, it underwrites general insurance. Further, the company offers courses to students as well as engages in the plantation industry.

It offers financial consultancy services, which include financial evaluations and money market surveys; insurance that offers financial vehicles, including competitive annuities, as well as asset allocation products; estate and tax-planning services; and savings, investment, and retirement-income products.

With these wide range of services and products offered, I am confident that Gnanalingam and the government can help to revive Maika and help Malaysian Indians forge ahead with confidence in the true sense of the word.