Miba: Give multiracial politics a chance

The Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) has appealed to all Malaysians to give multiracial politics a chance to grow in this country.

Miba president P Sivakumar said this brand of politics is good for Malaysia and the economy.

"We live in the age of globalisation. At the end of the day, we are all human beings and citizens of the world," he stressed.

Sivakumar also said it is wrong to claim that the New Economic Policy (NEP) has benefitted all the races.

"NEP did little for the Indians," he told Malaysiakini today. "The community achieved successes due to its own effort."

"Otherwise, why would 30,000 Indians take to the streets despite the police warning that it is an illegal gathering?" he asked in reference to the Nov 25 rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

Sivakumar said the abuses, weaknesses and implementation of the NEP were never monitored or debated in the Parliament or mass media.

"For instance, take the Indian community's issues pertaining to rights and equal opportunities in government jobs, education, training and business...these were swept under the carpet," he said.

The Miba president said former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad had lent credence to this assertion when he stated just before the 12 ^th general election that MIC president S Samy Vellu never raised such issues during his administration.

"However, it will be a total lie to say that Samy Vellu did not raise any issues at all. But the serious and sensitive issues which have been growing over time were sidelined.

"This drove the Indian community to demonstrate against their faithful friend - Barisan Nasional - and bring about Samy Vellu's defeat in Sungai Siput as well as demanding his resignation as MIC president," he said.

Voted for change

Sivakumar said the electorate gave their verdict on March 8.

"The majority signalled that multiracial politics is the way forward. So why should some minority groups protest against this. Are they questioning the majority's decision?" he asked.

He urged these groups to take a moment to reflect and visualise how Malaysia should be over the next 20 years or so.

"Do they wish to see a communalism-riddled society without an identity or a beautiful single Malaysian race? "If you love Malaysia, love Malaysians," he said.

Calling on these groups to look at past Umno presidents, Sivakumar said Tun Abdul Razak introduced the NEP in the 1970s to restructure society and eradicate poverty regardless of race.

"His successor Hussein Onn resigned because he did not want to accept communal politics and Mahathir, a real champion of the Malays, in his final years as Umno president had also advised the Malays to shed the 'crutches' mentality.

"What about the founder of Umno? The venerable Onn Jaffar who called on Umno, MCA and MIC to form a non-communal party, to unite all races under one roof for the common good of all and to avoid communal bickering and racial tension," he added.

On that note, Sivakumar said there is nothing wrong if PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim comes out with a new affirmative policy to help the poor of all races.

"A policy which protects the interest of the poor from cronyism," he added.

PKR has rejected the NEP in favour of what it calls the Malaysian Economic Agenda (MEA) to help the poor regardless of colour or creed.

However, Anwar has come under fire from Umno over this and protests have been held in the wake of the March 8 polls which saw an additional four states falling into opposition control.