HAVING disbursed nearly RM900 million to Tamil schools since he took office in 2009, Prime Minister Najib Razak has been commended for having done more for the Indian community than a certain former PM with Indian ancestry.

Najib revealed this at the launch of a book commemorating 200 years of Tamil education in Malaysia, at SJKT Taman Permata in Putrajaya, today, reported Bernama.

“In the budget each year, we give allocations for Chinese schools, Tamil schools, Islamic religious schools and even sekolah pondok (community-run religious schools).

“It is to the extent that (MIC president) S. Subramaniam just now mentioned that almost RM900 million has been allocated for Tamil vernacular schools since I became prime minister.

“And he mentioned that I have done more than any of the prime ministers before me, including one who has Indian heritage,” Najib said, in an apparent reference to his former mentor turned nemesis Dr Mahathir Mohamad, whose roots may be traced back to Kerala, India.

The prime minister said the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (MIB) he launched on April 23 was not empty talk but a comprehensive 10-year-plan to advance minority Malaysian Indians, who make up 8% of the population.

“This is not a pie-in-the-sky plan, or ‘vetti pecchi’  but the first realistic blueprint for the wellbeing of the Indian community.

“MIB is a good platform to achieve a stronger and more unified leadership of the Indian community.”

“Once you are unified, once you have a leadership that transcends small groups or groupings, then I’m confident the Indian community can be a lot stronger in the future. There must be efforts to unify the Indian community.”

Najib said more Tamil schools were being built as there was no better way out of poverty than that provided by education.

“In 2013, we promised to build six new SJKTs, bringing the total to 530 schools.

“Four schools are in the process of being constructed, one will be open next month, and another at the end of the year. We have upheld all the government’s promises,” he said, adding that he had also approved funds to establish 50 kindergartens in Tamil schools this year. – July 11, 2017.