I have read the writings of Ronald Benjamin and I herewith furnish my reply to his concerns. As opposed to Benjamin’s belief, we do look at the broader issues affecting Malaysians as a whole and at the same time protect the interests of the minority communities. Benjamin can read my writings on Climate Change, Human Trafficking, Ageing Population and even on the analysis of the UK Court decision as to why Zakir Naik was banned from the UK.

A simple Google search will enable Benjamin to read my writings and understand where we stand on these issues. Perhaps then he may dispel the notion that all of us have a tunnel vision for the community.

True enough, a leader should not focus wholesomely on one ethnic populace and many leaders, who claim to represent ethnic communities, do not really represent their voice.

For instance, in Malaysia, we have quite a number of ethnic Indian political parties which claim to represent the Indian Malaysian community but most of these political parties are rejected and despised by the Indian Malaysians solely because of their leaders who appear to be self-centred and scandal-ridden. The people want leaders with integrity, those who are free from scandal, well-educated and have their interests at heart.

As such, I do believe that MIC is quickly changing under the new president and you may note in my previous article that many new well-educated visionary youths are being groomed and many of us are silently working very hard to increase awareness of all Malaysians regarding their rights and responsibilities. But let’s ignore the politics for a minute and just focus on community solutions and your concerns.

We give special focus to the Indian Malaysian community because it is after all one of the minorities in any constituency in Malaysia but that does not mean that we ignore the issues affecting all Malaysians. As a minimum what we aim to achieve is to allow members of the minority community to bring issues onto the political agenda, correct factual errors and ensure that their interests and perspectives are recognised within the process.

Even international law makes recognition of minority interests and preferences through a deliberative understanding of democracy. The UN Declaration on Minorities and the UN Commission on Human Rights have both concluded that the issue of minorities can only be resolved “within a democratic framework”.

Therefore, I sincerely believe that there is nothing wrong in a democracy to represent the voice of a minority provided we still fight for the core issues affecting Malaysians.
Benjamin also speaks about discrimination in the private sector workplace and questions the policies which are put into place. In Malaysia, the Federal Constitution guarantees non-discrimination for a citizen. Article 8 is the cornerstone of constitutional protection of the rights to equality and non-discrimination in Malaysia. Article 8(1) states that: “All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law.”

Article 8(2) states that: “There shall be no discrimination against citizens on the ground only of religion, race, descent, place of birth or gender in any law or in the appointment to any office or employment under a public authority or in the administration of any law relating to the acquisition, holding or disposition of property or the establishing or carrying on of any trade, business, profession, vocation or employment.”

The highest law of the land protects Malaysian citizens against discrimination yet findings such as Khalid and Lee (2013) ‘Race and Graduate hiring in Malaysia’ discover that ethnic discrimination in the private sector is substantial. I agree with Benjamin on this issue and I feel that there is a lot to be done to assist Malaysians undergoing this form of discrimination.

The first step in stopping discrimination

A possible solution to the above matter would be to empower employee or potential employees with the knowledge of law and knowing of their rights. It is submitted that providing employees with the necessary information is the first step in stopping discrimination. Ordinary citizens must take the lead and ensure that discrimination is stopped in all departments and during every business initiative, such as hiring and firing.

Employers must be made to value human differences in a workplace. Corporations which practice discrimination must be made to be aware of the consequences of reputational damage if citizens start publicising their practices.

For instance, the court cases against Publix Supermarket Inc in the United States, caused the loss of millions of dollars when, a class-action suit was brought against this organisation in 1990s, covering more than 100,000 women who accused the company of systematically denying them promotion, raises, and preferred assignments.

This also brings me to the reason for encouraging the Indian Malaysian community to be active in entrepreneurship. I believe that entrepreneurship is more of a science than art, in the sense that the necessary skills can be acquired. By mastering entrepreneurial skills we can ensure that individuals are skilled in identifying business gaps and financial management.

Acquisition of wealth can be facilitated through the understanding of two concepts- increasing income and decreasing expenditure. Both these concepts are emphasised in entrepreneurship and are quite lacking among rural Indians. I have trained a number of families in Hutan Melintang who have benefited tremendously from doing simple home cooked food delivery service and have improved their overall household income.

I hope you realise that I am not aiming to create the next sugar or low cost flight tycoons who become billionaires from entrepreneurship. My aim here is simple - use entrepreneurship to increase household incomes, especially in rural areas, and such programmes are also open to all Malaysians.

I practice what I preach and I believe this is lacking in many state opposition representatives. Let us not crave for publicity and fanfare instead guide our people to realize their full potential and provide them with a better quality of life.

If it would please Benjamin, I would be more than happy to debate these issues with Professor P Ramasamy and Benjamin in a democratic manner. Let us engage in a rational discussion on political issues, presenting options and seeking a consensus on what is to be done for the people. I believe we are fighting for the same goals, only from two different sides of the table.

DR M SARAVANAN, PhD, is a member of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) in Hutan Melintang, Perak.