THE plight of the Indian community is never far from Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s mind, said Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran.

He said Dr Mahathir himself helms a committee on Indian affairs set up last week.

“He (Dr Mahathir) told me, ‘Kula, don’t forget, this is what we promised them. We must deliver, come what may’,” Kulasegaran told about 400 Indian entrepreneurs at a conference at the Temple of Fine Arts in Brickfields today.

Indian Malaysians are among the five communities Pakatan Harapan had made special commitments to in its election manifesto.

Among the 22 promises it made to the community include steps to reduce poverty, resolving the problem of stateless Indians within 100 days, providing full aid to Tamil schools, as well as sufficient space for Hindu temples and cemeteries.

Kulasegaran said the new committee will discuss how to fulfil these promises over the next two weeks.

He said the Pakatan Harapan government would also refine the Malaysian Indian Blueprint created by the previous government.

“The blueprint has its own problems (but) the best ideas will be (retained),” he said.

“I’m most concerned for the B40 (bottom 40% of households). The top 60% are well-off. 

“It’s the last 40%. We must cater to (their needs),” said the Ipoh Barat MP.

The former red identity card holder born in a rubber estate in Sitiawan, Perak, said he knew how it felt like to be raised in poverty.

“I was a former red IC holder. Poverty has nothing to do with skin colour. I missed many lunches when I was young,” he said.

He added that he wanted Tamil primary schools to become excellent education centres as his daughter also studies at a Tamil primary school.

While PH may not be able to fulfil its promises to the Indian community immediately because of the current austerity drive to reduce the country’s RM1 trillion debt, Kulasegaran said it was committed to being a clean government.

“We cannot apply for an inch of government land. I will not take any state awards.

“You can call me Kula until the end of my term. You are the taukeh, I’m the kuli. You put us here to serve you,” he said to cheers from the audience. – June 10, 2018.