Dr Mahathir Mohamad should have put the house in order when he was the prime minister and in total control. But he allowed unjust practices to continue unabated. Many are fully soaked in corruption now and we cannot now dry-clean themselves as they are too submerged in the dust and dung of corruption.

The irony is that for the last 25 years, the Indians in the country have been begging through the MIC year in and year out to raise their corporate wealth from 1.5 percent to three percent. But there have been no remedies from the government.

It is saddening to note that the Indian community has been pushed to the backwaters. Despite this setback, the Indian community has been resilient and have pursued the education of their young by begging and borrowing.

These students - who have worked as waiters and sweepers overseas to pay their fees - have suffered enough. Is it fair to ask the next generation of Indians to go through the same turmoil again?

The government professes equality and fairness for all Malaysians. The NEP has benefitted the bumiputeras through the AP scheme and other incentives. At least a paltry allocation could have be given to the Indian community.

Given the fact that 60,000 APs were issued , the bumi would have earned a clean RM2 billion. This is only one benefit. There are other multiple benefits accorded to them for education, infrastructure contracts, scholarships and top civil service appointments.

But when it comes to promoting the country, the prime minister and the leaders have always boasted of a multi-ethnic community. Little do the tourists and foreigners know how the other races, particularly the Indians, are treated in Malaysia.

And now there is a brake on them even going to Ukraine to study medicine. MIC secretary-general S Sothinathan got suspended as deputy minister and lost three months of his salary for being dharmic in his actions.

My question is this: How many APs were given, if any, to Indians through MIC or otherwise?