PM marginalising Indians? Get your mental capacity checked - Ramanan

Those who accused Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of marginalising the Indian community should check their mental capacity, said Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister R Ramanan.

“Those who claim the prime minister has marginalised the Indian community should go to Tanjung Rambutan to check their mental capacity.

“These are all jealousies, intended to provoke the anger of the Indian community. Stop it,” Bernama reported him as saying.

Ramanan (above) said this to reporters after opening the Koperasi Pengusaha Restoran India Malaysia Berhad (Koprimas) 11th annual general meeting at the Royal Selangor Club today.

On April 28, the United for the Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) announced it would encourage voters not to vote for the Pakatan Harapan candidate.

Party chairperson P Ramasamy said this was to teach a lesson to the federal government led by Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim, who he alleged had failed to fulfil their promises to Malaysians.

“I am not here to canvass votes for any party. Instead, we are here to tell voters not to vote for Harapan,” he told journalists in Kuala Kubu Baharu.

“They (voters) can choose to vote for either Perikatan Nasional, Parti Rakyat Malaysia, or the independent candidate. That is their choice, and we will not interfere,” he added.

In defending the prime minister, Ramanan argued that Anwar has never sidelined the community, adding that the latter had even increased allocations for them.

Among others, Ramanan cited the RM30 million for the SPUMI Financing Scheme (SPUMI Goes Big) and a special fund of RM50 million from Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) for the Prosperity, Empowerment and New Normal For Indian Women (PENN) programme, which is set to benefit over 10,000 Indian women entrepreneurs.

“So, I reiterate the call to stop the accusations that the prime minister has sidelined the Indian community while governing the country,” he added.

RM100k allocation

Earlier in his speech, Ramanan announced the approval of a grant worth RM100,000 to Koprimas.

He said the grant, provided through the Cooperative Strengthening Programme under the Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (SKM), would serve as a catalyst for business growth and ultimately benefit Koprimas members.

“Koprimas has the potential to expand its business by establishing raw material distribution warehouses, especially for restaurant entrepreneurs throughout Malaysia,” he said.

Ramanan also urged the Indian cooperative movement to take advantage of various government assistance programmes to advance their businesses, noting that only 25 out of the total 419 Indian cooperatives in the country have utilised the Revolving Capital Fund provided by the government through SKM.

Please join the Malaysiakini WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news and views that matter.

Charles: Peeved Indian voters don't need ceramah, want to meet MB

At Labour Day bash, DAP-MIC link arms for Indian votes

Govt allocates RM30m to Misi, transforming Indian labour

Govt makes significant efforts to support Indian community - Fahmi

COMMENT | KKB polls: Indians and the futility of voting