I refer to the malaysiakini special report Escape from slavery .

Slavery was abolished centuries ago. For it to rear its ugly head again in these modern times - particularly in Malaysia which is reaching its fully developed status - is most shocking and incomprehensible. The incident deserves the fullest condemnation of the government particularly from the Ministry of Human Resources and the police.

The perpetrators of this heinous crime should be brought to book and charged for the atrocities they committed on the innocent workers.

The national leaders of the MIC - which is responsible for the welfare and progress of the Indians in this country - should also be condemned for doing practically nothing to liberate these so-called bonded labourers. They have various branches like the Yayasan Social Strategik, the Youth wing and others but just what are the leaders of these bodies doing? Are they doing the right thing in helping society and are they just taking the easy way out by just marking their name and attendance at every meeting?

During the general election, the whole MIC machinery will be working very hard to secure votes for the Barisan Nasional. These poor downtrodden people, if they are registered voters, will again faithfully vote for the BN. The BN government and the MIC should do the following immediately:

  • Locate all these poor souls and provide them with the birth certificates and MyKads so that they can become competitive citizens in the job market. After all, their ancestors were brought in to Malaya to build basic infrastructure allowing us to enjoy what we are enjoying today.

  • Identify the perpetrators and charge them for bonded labour or slavery. These rogues must be imprisoned and not just fined.

  • Provide schooling for their children to avert the incidence of child labour.

    • It is a great sin that slavery exists in this country when we are looking to reach a fully developed status as a nation. It is a real shame.