Indian politicians who sit in the Dewan Rakyat, Dewan Negara and state assemblies have been urged to form one cross-party political caucus to address issues related to the community.

The caucus will be similar to what is seen in the US Congress, where Black and Pacific Island caucuses exist consisting of members from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

The proposal was made by the Coalition of Malaysian Indian non-governmental organisations (Comin) in conjunction with the second anniversary of the Hindraf protest today.

indian coalition pc 030108 a vaithilingam "We urge the Indian community to engage with each other and be united in what should be a common aim of empowering impoverished Indians so they can be useful citizens of this country.

"Whilst differences can and should exist and be debated rationally and through the democratic process, we urge politicians, temple leaders and NGOs to put aside personality clashes and political differences when dealing with the plight of poor Indians and work together across party lines in this common aim," said Comin chairperson A Vaithilingam in a statement.

Comin also urged the federal government and all state governments, be they from Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Rakyat, to show their sincerity in improving the lot of the Indian community.

Vaithilingam said concrete and tangible efforts must be made to improve educational opportunities, moral upliftment, the provision of living skills training and the creation of employment and small business opportunities.

He also stressed that efforts to improve national unity must be done in a transparent and genuine method.

In view of this, Comin reiterated its call for the creation of an independent non-political task force to be a monitoring body comprising representatives selected by NGOs themselves to oversee the implementation of the initiatives for reform that are so desperately needed.

"The government's '1Malaysia' concept must be practised and implemented in a manner that gives every Malaysian the sense of pride that he is wanted, appreciated and recognised in the development and progress of our beloved country," said Vaithilingam.

'This land belongs to all'

Acknowledging that things have taken a turn for the better since the last general election, the Comin chairperson however questioned the effectiveness of the initiatives taken.

"Though, we note that some initiatives are being implemented by the federal government and state governments on a piecemeal basis, we have concerns as to whether such initiatives are real institutional changes that will offer change and restore confidence in the minds of people," he said.

"This land belongs to all. It is our primordial duty to see that no single citizen is made to feel as if he is not one among us. There is enough for all and everyone. For democracy to succeed it has to be a tool that ought to address the needs of the weak and the minority more than the majority.

"We agree that the nation must be centred on the federal constitution, rule of law and institutional reforms that guarantee the rights of every citizen, without dwelling on our communal differences," he added.

Vaithilingam noted that the 2008 general election had exposed strong feelings of discontent over numerous issues such as corruption and abuse of power as well as the severe lack of meaningful initiatives to alleviate the problems of both the urban and rural poor.

"For once it exposed the weakness in the communal politics and the failure of the national leadership and that of the minority community in realising their constitutional rights.

"It was only after the severe defeat at the general election and the several subsequent by-elections did the authorities show any sign of realisation as to the depth and severity of the issues affecting the Indians specifically and majority Malaysians generally," he added.

Vaithilingam said many saw the Hindraf rally as a wake up call for Indian Malaysians, but in truth now realise that Nov 25, 2007 was a wake up call for Malaysians of all races.