Why Indian Malaysians Mourn Wrong Heroes

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It is both painful and telling to witness thousands of young Indian Malaysians, including school children, turning up in force for the funerals of gang leaders and underworld figures.
Meanwhile, the passing of educators, scholars, or community leaders who have dedicated their lives to uplifting the Indian community barely registers.
This is not merely a moral failing but a reflection of a nation that has, for decades, normalised the exclusion and degradation of an entire ethnic group.
For too long, Indians in Malaysia have lived under the shadow of structural neglect and state-sanctioned second-class citizenship.
ADSThere are no meaningful affirmative action policies to uplift the community.
Disparities in education, access to business capital, and government procurement opportunities are entrenched.
Derogatory terms like “keling” continue to be used without consequence. The casual branding of Indians as alcoholics, criminals, and gangsters by the media, by policymakers, and in public discourse has robbed generations of dignity and self-worth.
But even despair has context.
Results of neglect
What the crowds at these funerals signal is not just misplaced loyalty. It is the scream of a community cornered, of youth who have been told, over and over again, that the system was never built for them.
When formal institutions abandon people, informal power fills the vacuum. This is what we are seeing: a loyalty born not of choice but of exclusion.
The 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) provides the government with a strategic policy and implementation space to meaningfully address Indian marginalisation.
We need to put forward a bold, community-driven framework to confront systemic exclusion and offer a real pathway to empowerment, especially for the bottom 60 percent (B60) of Indian households.
Policymakers could focus on four urgent areas of intervention - education reform, youth and women empowerment, SME development, and institutional accountability - and these should be prioritised as a blueprint for survival.
Justice for Indian community
If embedded into 13MP and future national development agendas, these proposals can help shift the Indian Malaysian narrative from dependency to agency, from marginalisation to shared prosperity.
ADSThis is not about special treatment; it is about justice. About repairing the damage of decades of structural neglect and finally allowing Indian Malaysians to participate fully and equitably in national development.
To ignore this moment, to once again sideline the voices of a hurting, frustrated, and disillusioned community, is to risk losing another generation.
This is not a call for pity. It is a call for political will. If the government truly cares about social cohesion, nation-building, and justice, then it must start by recognising where it has failed and act decisively to correct it. -  Mkini
CHARLES SANTIAGO is a former Klang MP.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.

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