LETTER | MIC should question the lack of political will first before the submission of proposals.

If it could not assist the Indian community during its heyday, what makes MIC deputy president M Saravanan think that the party might be seriously considered as the representative of the community?

There is much talk about what holds for the Indian community in the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP). MIC has apparently forwarded proposals to be considered for the betterment of the Indian community under the plan.

If the Indian community has virtually abandoned MIC, what makes the party leaders think that the government will give them their due recognition?

MIC, unfortunately, is the case of shutting the doors of the stables after the horses have bolted. It would be a Herculean task to bring back Indians within its political fold.

Rather than pretending to be the representative of the Indian community, it should resort to the management of the party’s properties acquired through the financial contributions of the rank-and-file Indian working class.

There never existed a powerful political will on the part of the earlier BN government or the present pretentious Madani government to seriously look into and address the social and well-being of the Indian community.

Indians’ contributions forgotten

The community that sacrificed and contributed so much to the development and well-being of the nation remains a discriminated and shunned ethnic community.

The riches contributed by the community have been passed to others who are not as deserving as they are. MIC can put up with hypocritical pretensions about its representative nature, but the stark ignominious fact remains that it too had a hand in the marginalisation of the community.

Contradictions between MIC leaders and the rank-and-file members or Indians are sharp and divisive. One wonders whether the presence of these class divisions between the leaders and those led would not compromise the representative nature of the party.

Such is the contradiction between those who pretend to represent the community and those segments of the Indian population that have missed out on opportunities over the years.

If there is no political will on the part of the Malay hegemonic elite to respect the rights of Indians, there is nothing much MIC or the other so-called representatives can do.

It is better to focus on the lack of political will in addressing the myriad problems faced by the Indian community rather than submitting proposal after proposal for the betterment of the community.

P RAMASAMY is a retired UKM professor, former deputy chief minister II of Penang and is currently the interim chairperson of Urimai.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.