EXISTING Indian political parties have failed to effectively represent the community, the majority of them are the working class.

The community needs a party that is independent and composed of leaders who will be more aggressive in the pursuit of rights.

Multiracial

The so-called multiracial political parties have failed to represent the community effectively and honestly.

By adopting a multiracial ideology, they have downplayed the ethnic, cultural and religious concerns.

So much so, they try to hide or camouflage the problems of the community.

As long as these multiracial parties were in the opposition, Indian support was needed.

This was the time that party leaders spoke of racial equality, equal rights and others.

However, once these political parties came to power, the concern dissipated.

Inadequate leadership

Indians leaders have been elected as MPs and state assemblymen from the multiracial parties.

Some of them were appointed as deputy ministers, one minister and a few members to the state executive councils.

Indians don’t hold senior positions, even if one or two hold such positions, they are at the behest of non-Indian leaders.

No dignity

Generally speaking, Indian leaders have no respect or dignity from non-Indian leaders.

Given this, how could the Indian community hold them in high respect.

Furthermore, how could they articulate the deeper and fundamental concerns without alienating their non-Indian counterparts.

Various issues dear to community are seldom taken up at the state or federal levels.

Current Issues

Issues such as the latest amendments to the citizenship law, the unequal admissions to public universities and matriculation programmes, the lack of employment, the danger of low enrollment in facing Tamil schools, the teaching of Tamil language in secondary schools and many others.

Pathetic Budget 2024 

For the Budget 2024, only a pittance of RM130 million was allocated – RM100 million for the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) and RM30 million for Indian entrepreneurial schemes.

The community should have ben allocated RM2 billion considering their contributions to the country.

Unfortunately, there were Indian leaders who praised and welcomed the budget. What a shame and tragedy!

There is no need for the government to throw bread crumbs. The community does not need handouts. What is needed is for the government to recognise them on equal rights.

Indians do not need leaders who do not speak up bravely and forthrightly.

Surely, Indians do not need leaders who are subservient to others who have no interest towards them.

Lacuna

A new political party/movement is required to honestly and forthrightly represent the community – especially the downtrodden and the powerless.

The emergence of such a party or movement needs to address the lacuna in Indian representation.

It must go beyond the narrow confines of the present narrow forms of representation to articulate the broader and deeper concerns of the community that has sacrificed so much but has got so little.

Let history judge

The questions of Indians being a numerically small, heterogeneous, divisive and others have been invoked to deny the constitutional and legal right to be organised and represented by a new political party or movement.

I think history will be the best judge whether the new form of representation succeeds or fails. – November 24, 2023.

* Ramasamy Palanisamy 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.