CUSTODIAL deaths involving Indians continue to increase and it is a shock to the Indian community and Malaysians in general. In the space of two months, four Indians have died in custody under suspicious and dubious circumstances. Indians are naturally alarmed and community leaders have become vocal on this disturbing trend.

It was cases like the demolition of Hindu temples that brought about the Hindraf rally for a community incensed at the lack of consideration and respect given to Hindu places of worship, especially in Selangor. The protests galvanised the community and it was this  demonstration, together with the Bersih rallies, that changed the political landscape of the country, with the opposition making big gains in 2008 by winning a number of states, and finally getting control of the federal government in 2018.

Custodial deaths are a blot on our nation that practises democracy and the rule of law, and if it goes on like this without the government taking any urgent action to stop this, a Hindraf-type rally could become a proactive response to pressure the government to replace the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) and to set up an Independent Police Complaints of Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), which has been touted as being inspired by international best practices and possibly the best way to ensure that the police and other agencies follow SOP and other rules. A human has a right to life and it must be respected.

The higher ratio of Indians involved in crime and subsequent detention can be traced back to the plantation-to-urban migration that began about 40 years ago and the vicious cycle of poverty of the affected Indians. The urban migration did not improve their lives but made things worse. Unlike the Malay community that benefited from affirmative action to overcome poverty and illiteracy under the NEP from the 1970s onwards, the Indians were caught in a vicious cycle of poverty and its attendant social problems due to a lack of a minimum wage, lack of education and skills, lack of public sector jobs, inadequate housing and lack of economic opportunities for social mobility.

The influx of foreign workers depressed wages further of the poor and unskilled Indian workers. The political party that claimed to represent the Indian community – the MIC – failed totally to address the issues of the migration and the expectations of the new generation as it had neither the vision nor the proactive mission to address the novel set of problems that arose among the Indian community.

One can generally say that about half of the Indians, belonging to various ethnic groups, have made progress through their own efforts and resources. It is the bottom half that is still mired in poverty and needs the help of the government in the form of affirmative action to lift themselves. This section of the community is also steeped in negative values like alcoholism, laziness, lack of motivation, caste consciousness, drug addiction, gangsterism, dysfunctional families, crime and dependency on handouts.

Only the government, not political parties or civil society groups, has the means and resources to help the community come out of this pitiful situation. Former prime minister Najib Razak realised this and formulated the Indian Blueprint and other programmes to help the community. Since Merdeka, no prime minister other than Najib had made a serious effort to assist the Indians who had fallen by the wayside in the nation’s  economic progress, despite their contribution to the country’s development.

The Indian community remembers Najib’s efforts such as opening matriculation programmes and other educational opportunities for Indian students whose ratio in tertiary institutions was reduced by the new meritocratic system, upgrading and improvement of Tamil schools, closure of the Maika Holdings episode, adopting a minimum wage scheme that helps overcome poverty among the low-skilled Indians, allocation of government jobs and promotions, helping those without birth certificates, identity cards and citizenship, upgrading and brightening up the Indian business centre in Brickfields.

The BR1M and Tekun schemes also benefitted Indians. Najib’s initiative to put an end to the Maika Holdings issue removed a major bone of contention and headache for the large number of Indian investors. If not for his initiative, one could expect scuffles and shouting matches still going on at every AGM of the  Maika Holdings. The Maika Holdings was a big failure for the Indian community and it dampened the enthusiasm  of the community that expected it to be a springboard for socioeconomic  improvement. Its failure can be attributed to political mismanagement of what was purely an economic and commercial enterprise.

Helping the Indian community will bring about dividends in the next general election as Indians will be a decisive force, especially in the multiracial constituencies in the urban areas of the peninsular west coast states. With the political situation in a flux and parties in disarray, many expect GE15 to result in a hung parliament or unstable coalitions. 

The government needs to step in directly to assist the Indian community as past records show that providing the allocation to political parties led to a lot of abuse and siphoning of funds. Since the government helps the B40 through programmes like BR1M/BSH and Tekun, the same can be done for budgetary allocations specially for Indians. There is no need for third parties to be involved and a government department can supervise the programme and there is less chance of abuse and corruption because there are many means to monitor the scheme, including raising the matter in Parliament. Loans for businesses and self-improvement should be the target of the scheme and the government needs to give a larger allocation than at present as helping the Indians, like what was done for the Malays, will be a multi-billion ringgit effort and a sincere and serious endeavour must be made.

A large number of Tamil schools have been upgraded and improved especially during Samy Vellu’s tenure as works minister and Tamil schools are already showing good results. They are the beacon for the future transformation and betterment of the Indian community.

All that is needed is for the government to help the community through affirmative action and some programmes to overcome their present poverty, made worse by the pandemic, until such time when better-educated and skilled Indians become the majority and poverty – and crime – can be reduced to the minimum. – June 15, 2021.

* V. Thomas reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.