PKR president and Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is right in saying that there exists a wide gulf between the poor Indians and the rich Indians.
He said while campaigning in Tapah that Malays are poor but the Indians are dirt poor. Such a state of affairs contrasted starkly with the MIC leaders who are super rich.
The former MIC late president Tun S. Samy Vellu was known for his wealth and expensive attire.
However, Anwar failed to mention the glaring wealth gap between UMNO, Bersatu and PAS leaders and the ordinary Malays especially in the rural areas. The rich Malay leaders have acquired far more wealth in the name of addressing Malay poverty.
MIC leaders in the past and present might not have had the access to wealth in comparison to the UMNO or Bersatu or PAS leaders.
Rent-seeking initiatives have been the main source of wealth to the Malay elite. MIC leaders in the name of addressing the plight of the Indian poor have been the main beneficiaries of projects and contracts, to name a few privileges.
More than 70% of the Indians community are members of the working class. Due to migration, many of them are located in urban areas. But lacking the financial means that they often become squatters in urban areas.
Even low cost housing is beyond the means of ordinary Indians in the country. Essentially, the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration has fundamentally failed the Indians.
Eradicating poverty
Not only is the Indian community poor, the presence of institutional racism prevents them from seeking decent employment in the public sector.
As we know, public sector employment is dominated by one community – the Malays.
Lack of educational opportunities in the public universities pose a major challenge for the upward mobility of Indians. The presence of institutional racism prevents Indian from gaining admission to strategic disciplines in the universities.
The matriculation programme is mainly meant for Malay students with a shameless token of 10% for non-Malay students.
While Malay elites end up benefitting from government contracts and licenses, what is left for non-Malays are grabbed by their elites.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Indians are dirt poor. But the question is why they are in such an unenviable position.
Who is responsible? The blame cannot be just cast on the Indian elite. They are essentially beneficiaries of a political and economic system that is well entrenched in class divisions.
Indians cannot be rescued by asking their elite to share their wealth. Would the Malay elite be prepared to share their wealth with the Malay poor?
Big PH dream
I hope that PH comes to federal power with Anwar as the 10th prime minister. The chances are good; in fact, PH might win more seats than the previous general election in 2018.
The top priority should be to put an effective and pragmatic poverty eradication programme irrespective of race or religion.
I don’t think the BN or Perikatan Nasional (PN) can do this because their DNA is against the poor and the unfortunate. It was good as election campaign that Anwar was able to point out the glaring inequality in the Indian community.
What he said was nothing new, but his re-focus was important to give priority to poverty eradication an added thrust in the on-going campaign.
In fact, I suggest that Anwar thinks about setting up a high-powered committee to re-conceptualise as how poverty could be eradicated if PH comes to power.
It is not enough to be serious but must be seen and heard that PH is committed to poverty eradication. – Nov 15, 2022
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
