More Indian Parties What For

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Indians make up slightly more than 6% of Malaysia’s 33 million population, down from 10% about 50 years ago. The figure is expected to drop further, going by the number of children in Indian families.
It is a natural progression that is out of anyone’s control.
What is not openly talked about is the deep split within the Malaysian Indian community. While they scream about being discriminated against by the Bumiputera policy, among others, they seldom breathe a word about the prejudices practised widely among themselves.
When it comes to marriages, especially those that are matchmade, the individuals will send out their preferences with caste being the “same or higher” but never anything “lower.” Even the most liberal and educated ones seem to have succumbed to this inhumane practice.
The funny part is even within a person from a specific ethnic group, such as Malayalees, Telugus and Ceylonese, there is classification according to caste. Punjabis are also divided into clans and caste which are also strongly practised especially when it comes to marriage.
If that’s not enough, they even trace their ancestry to their village of origin in India and make it a point to mention this when arranging marriages or in private conversations as a show of superiority.
Marriages outside the caste or line of descent have brought about domestic problems among many families, stories that are not known outside. Some stories that you hear about the damage these differences have caused are beyond belief.
That’s how divided the community is within itself.
Now two prominent disgruntled politicians are saying there is a need for a new party to serve the Malaysian Indian community. They say MIC has lost relevance while Indian representation in Pakatan Harapan leaves much to be desired.
P Ramasamy, who quit DAP in a huff after being dropped for the state elections in August, said the new party for Indians should not be dependent on Pakatan Harapan or Perikatan Nasional.
It must be mentioned here that Ramasamy was a three-term assemblyman from 2008 to 2023. He was also Penang’s deputy chief minister during the same period besides being an MP for one term.
In all that time, he did not say that Indian representation in PH leaves much to be desired.
Former MIC leader P Thiagarajan, more popularly known as Ohms Thiagarajan, says the MIC has become obsolete so a new political party is needed to represent the community. He, too, was among leaders who left the party in a huff.
What is shocking is that he claims that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has given his blessings for a new party, although the Prime Minister’s Office has since denied this.
In six decades, MIC has not done what it was supposed to do and has been rejected by the community at the elections. The party’s main success was in enriching cronies and relatives of leaders who used the party as a vehicle to riches and comfort.
Anwar should know better that what the community actually needs is not more political parties but government action to lift the community out of the doldrums. For one thing, he can direct the Public Services Commission to employ more Indians.
I know of many who aspired to join the police and armed forces but had been unable to do so because of unwritten quotas. Government service is one area but Indians also need more places in public colleges and universities especially in critical courses.
Most importantly, they need help for more business opportunities and grants which the Indian representatives in the last few governments had failed to implement. What happened was that funds meant for the community via Mitra were siphoned off.
Anwar’s unity government coalition includes 11 Indian MPs from DAP, PKR and MIC in the current Parliament. Can’t they speak up for the community?
It’s funny that leaders who are calling for the setting up of a new Indian party are those who portrayed that everything was hunky dory when they were elected representatives. After they have been dropped, they suddenly feel otherwise. Coincidence?
Let’s get real and realise that having more Indian parties, elected representatives, ministers and exco members in the state is no guarantee that the Indian community’s woes will be resolved.
All the community needs now is recognition that serious help is needed to bring many of them into the mainstream as born Malaysians for whom Malaysia is their home. - FMT
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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