Dear MIC president G Palanivel,

Lately, there has been a sudden rise in racist remarks and racial tension in our country. Starting with the ‘Allah’ term fiasco, we have seen plenty of other detrimental events that have further escalated the tension among the various ethnicities living in our country. If we trace it back to the very roots, it is clear that these are all part of the propaganda of some religious and ethnic-based parties passing around seditious remarks.

Noting that it has been a good 45 years since the May 13 black mark in our history, it is time serious efforts are made to curb these illicit racial remarks and make those responsible truly pay for it. However, there is one big question still lingering. As the president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and claiming to represent a significant portion of Indians in Malaysia, what have you done thus far to really take this matter in hand?

Take the recent alleged public remarks by a Muslim convert lecturer from one of the public universities. Belittling the contributions of the non-Malays to the welfare of this country is, in my opinion, stooping super low. This particular person’s statements seemed a lot seditious, considering he has undermined the non-Malays at every turn, just to prove a futile point.

Well, this is not the only weed in the society. Allegedly threatening that there are over 5 million foreigners to instantly take over the non-Malays’ place in this country should they “abandon the ship”, he seemingly has forgotten that these instant “replacement citizens” are not going to give their all to protect their beloved country in case of an ordeal.

However, what is even saddening about such incidents in a supposed-to-be harmonious society is that no leaders are willing to question such remarks being publicly made. Where is the future for a unified society heading to? Are the political leaders simply sitting by idly and waiting for a better time to react on such matters?

An Islamic group allegedly questioned the need for a grand refurbishment for the Sundaraja Perumal temple in Klang. Where were you?

A former Court of Appeal judge created public fury when he allegedly said sculptures of non-Muslim deities should not be built in the open. He meant the Lord Murugan statue in Batu Caves. Where were you?

There is a special reason you were chosen as one of the people’s representatives. If you decide to ignore their grievances until the last moment, you might as well sit and watch the whole time.

There have been quite some initiatives from MCA (at least) voicing out the Chinese community’s disapproval of certain uproars happening in our country, namely in the proposal of implementing the Islamic penal law. Alas, this isn’t the case for MIC. Where are you guys in these matters?

Why such a long delay?

Surprisingly, your Youth Wing leader C Sivaraajh did oppose hudud, albeit not on a scale comparable to the MCA’s. You, yes, you took two to three weeks, I guess, to give a simple press statement against this issue. Why is there such a long delay in expressing your discomfort in such situations? Is it that tumultuous?

Talking about the draconian Sedition Act, the authorities are using the law selectively to silence their critics. That is the only plausible deduction that can be made, looking at how certain party leaders are going around making seditious remarks and still get to roam around freely.

Economically, Indian Malaysians’ equity holding has stagnated or remained the same in the past decade. The wealth disparity among the Indians has increased whilst the Gini coefficient (which measures income disparity) for the Malays and Chinese show a downward trend. This means that within the Indian Malaysian community, the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer.

And don’t be eager to repudiate this, I’ve sourced the data from the Department of Statistics.

I sincerely hope you would take these matters seriously and put some good thought into voicing out the remonstrances of the people. Well, someone has got to put a stop to such incidents to ensure harmony in this country. That is our strength. If we are on the verge of losing it because of some morons, then it is high time imperative measures are taken to maintain a harmonious society in our country.

PS: You can silence your dissidents in the party by expelling them, but you can never silence the people. People anticipate a lot from you after you succeeded the controversial S Samy Velu, but you are no better in any way. Stop being an apologist and start serving the people, regardless of whether they are Indians, Chinese, Malays or any other race.