INDIAN Malaysian professionals have expressed agreement with their ethnic community’s sentiments on the high cost of living, corruption, and lack of jobs and stagnant wages, which were revealed in a recent Invoke Centre for Policy Initiatives survey.

The survey, which involved 17,107 people, including 1,110 Indians, aged 21 and above who were registered to vote, found that the community was the ethnic group most concerned about these issues ahead of the 14th General Election.

Their sentiments resonate among the professionals interviewed, who expressed concern about the community’s future after decades of marginalisation and prejudice.

Lawyer Surjan Singh Sidhu agreed that the rising cost of living placed an additional burden on the people.

“Rafizi (Ramli) is right. The cost of living has gone up nearly twofold. Even if petrol prices increase by just 50 sen or RM1, people still feel the impact,” he said, referring to the PKR vice-president who heads Invoke, which uses data analytics and surveys to track voter sentiment.

Surjan said Prime Minister Najib Razak should come clean over the scandal involving state investor 1Malaysia Development Berhad as it involved the public’s money.

“He has not explained it till today, and if he cannot (explain it), he should resign.”

For banker Hanu Suhan Prasant, 34, the country’s debt had created a snowball effect, contributing to Indians’ dissatisfaction.

“I think (there is a) bigger picture (that) is related to the country’s debt, which is causing the three issues,” he said, referring to the high cost of living, public corruption, and the lack of jobs and low wages.

Hanu said Indian Malaysians were being deprived of employment opportunities due to the economy’s over-reliance on foreign labour.

“Some (Indians) are still fighting to take even the lowest jobs. This contributes to the problem of gangsterism, which is considered rife in the Indian community.”

Mani Supramaniam, 50, agreed that the community was unfortunately associated with gangsterism and drug abuse.

He said this was not the case four decades ago, and expressed dismay at the long-standing marginalisation.

He said the lack of job opportunities in the public and private sectors only enhanced the sense of marginalisation and discrimination.

“We are portrayed as the ‘key players’ in all negative activities in the country. When people talk about Indians, they say we are ‘dirty’ people.

“Forty years ago, Indians were (seen as) fantastic. However, they never got jobs, which is why they have come to feel unwanted in the country,” said Mani, who works as a driver.

He added that the rising cost of living and price hikes were understandable given global factors, but they should be accompanied by an increase in wages.

Malaysian Hindu Youth Council assistant secretary Nareesh Pillay, 26, blames the lack of equal opportunities and notes the vicious cycle that lower-income Indians find themselves stuck in.

He said Indian Malaysians in the B40, or bottom 40% of households, category found it most challenging to find better-paying jobs because they were denied such opportunities due to negative perceptions.

The community comprises a significant portion of the B40 category, earning not more than RM3,855 a month.

“(If this problem continues,) there is no future for Indians in the country,” said Nareesh, who is a pilot.

“Malaysia is a safe country,but in terms of opportunities, it is not good for Indians. Equal opportunities should be given to everybody as it will bring the country to another level.”

Invoke’s survey was carried between June and last month via telephone interviews. – August 7, 2017.