SOMETIME back there was speculation that the outspoken and vocal Prof P. Ramasamy who is also Penang Deputy Chief Minister II would not be selected to defend his state assembly seat in the upcoming Penang state election.
Although this news has since been regarded as a rumour, there is a possibility of the DAP overlooking his importance to the Indian community. Presently, there is not a single Indian leader of repute in the unity government who is either familiar with or keen to raise Indian issues.
Should the DAP axe him in the looming state polls, it will be a major disaster for the unity government in securing Indian votes.
There is plenty of difference between ex-MPs Charles Santiago and Kasturi Patto who were not selected for another term as compared to the indefatigable and indispensable Ramasamy.
One needs to understand that there is only one Cabinet Minister of Indian origin, Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar but he, too, is now on the defensive because some of his staff were engaged in graft and have been sacked.
Anyway, he did not and does not raise any Indian issues. He is a weakling as can be seen from how easily the Human Resources Ministry gave up its hard-won fight by former manpower minister M. Kulasegaran concerning the recruitment and management of foreign workers to the Home Ministry and Immigration Department.
They have now become the “custodians of foreign workers” whatever that means. Ministers need to be firm and tough, especially when dealing with self-assertive civil servants and little Napoleons in the ministries.
Indian’s plights being overlooked
The MIC has been totally eclipsed in the present political scenario and do not have the leadership or the moral right to represent the Indians.
This also applies to the micro-Indian-based parties. All these mean that the only true leader is Ramasamy and he has to shoulder single-handedly the heavy burden of having to champion Indian issues.
The Indian community suffers from various shortcomings – some self-inflicted and others due to marginalisation by the government in the last 50 years since the implementation of the National Economic Policy (NEP).
One could roughly say that about half the Indian population is doing well but the other half wallows in poverty and social ills which the Madani government should be worried about.
Former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak realised that the poorer sections of the Indian community needed help, hence he formulated the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (MIB) during his time by implementing many schemes that began to benefit the community.
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who became the PM for a second time after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) victory in 2018 appointed four Indian ministers – the highest ever since Merdeka and many Indians felt that possibly Dr Mahathir was making amends for having ignored the community previously.
The Indian community expected that under his new administration the MIB will be continued and possibly even more schemes to help Indians could be in the offing. Regrettably, his government came to a pre-mature end and dashed were the hopes of Malaysian Indians.
During the pandemic years under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Indians did not expect any major initiatives as the nation was grappling with socio-economic problems and losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under PMX Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Indians expect a better deal. Indians make up more than 40% of PKR members and it is time for Anwar to return the favour.
Since taking power, the unity government has not done anything positive that could enthuse or excite the Indians. Nothing so far under the unity government gives hope of addressing the various problems facing the community unless Indian MPs and leaders consistently prod the unity government.
It is for this reason that Indians need a vocal leader – and none is more capable than Ramasamy – to remind the government of its duty and promises to the Indian community. – May 15, 2023
V. Thomas is a FocusM reader.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
