A LETTER to Editor by one Stephen Ng made me wonder why people like himself – especially those who are celebrating union of DAP with UMNO – are so much worked up about the idea of a new Indian political party that is independent of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
It is not difficult to identify where Stephen Ng is politically aligned to. What I couldn’t understand is why people like Stephen Ng who are part or supporter of a farce multi-racial organisation are so worked up if Indians in Malaysia decided to have a political party that is independent of major political alliances.
People like Stephen Ng are ignorant of Indians’ political understanding and reality in Malaysia. His shallow knowledge on the Indians is obvious on his narration of ‘how Indians are lagging behind’.
It shows people like him would never understand the problems of Malaysian Indians in this country. He claims that Malays are somehow ‘economically comfortable’ with the government’s assistance while the Chinese are independent and pragmatic in Malaysia.
He thinks Indians are lagging behind. Let me correct Stephen Ng there: numerically Indians may be small in this country but we are people with dignity. As the writer claimed, Indians in Malaysia may not be backed by government policies nor we have a grip on economy but we can bank on education to progress.
Let Indians determine their future
The number of Indians in civil service has increased steadily over the past years; Indians are competing for top jobs in private sectors as well. The number of successful entrepreneurs have also increased with some spreading their wings beyond Malaysia.
This is all without ‘government assistance’ or ‘economic background’ that the writer has narrated. We are a community that is excelling on our own with education as our lifeline. That is why our Tamil schools are fast becoming the choice of many Indian parents due to their excellent track record in the science and technology subjects in recent times.
I believe the writer is still stuck in the past where he still blames the late Tun S. Samy Vellu and MIC for what he deems as ‘failure’ of Indians.
Samy Vellu was defeated in 2008 not because he failed the Indians but because he couldn’t stand up to UMNO’s leadership. This prompted Indians to vote against MIC because the party couldn’t stand up against UMNO’s hegemony.
Indians backed multi-racial parties like DAP and PKR for better alternative but that shouldn’t be misconstrued as ‘blind loyalty’. The recent state elections as well as the Pulai by-election have indicated that Indians are slowly leaning towards opposition parties because they are more pragmatic about Malaysian politics.
The community has come to its senses that ‘multi-racial politics’ that some parties are championing is basically a farce.
It is not for people like Stephen Ng to conclude if an independent Indian party is viable for Indians in Malaysia. It is the call of Malaysian Indians.
They are no longer stuck in the political conundrum; they are able to differentiate reality from falsehood. They need a party that stand up for their rights; not a party that become silent when they are in power.
‘Don’t fool Indians’
Of course the writer and his political masters will be upset and blame Indian leaders like Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy who are ‘challenging’ their farce multi-racial politics in Malaysia. These leaders are there for power – not for the betterment of Malaysians – let alone the marginalised Indian community in the country.
Indians in Malaysia are no longer stuck in ‘Hobson’s choice’ like the Chinese community. The Chinese in Malaysia are being misguided by some politicians as though they have no choice but to remain loyal to PH.
They are being deluded with the “danger of PN coming to power”. We have witnessed this in the recent six state elections as to how the Chinese community was ‘frightened’ that should PN win the elections, they would be deprived of their rights to consume alcohol or rights of clothing, gambling and even their places of worship could be destroyed.
With such campaign, one particular party could score a near perfect victory. But such lies and scare tactics will not be relevant forever. Indians have woken up to that reality.
People like Stephen Ng can continue to fool some people that ‘they have no choice’ but to support this one particular farce multi-racial party but fortunately, not all would buy such narrative.
People are watching how this particular party becomes second fiddle in Malaysian politics. They no longer stand up for the rights of the people but conveniently forgotten the issues close to the people. Any talk of the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) recognition is a taboo now.
Prof Ramasamy became ‘convenient target’ whenever he raised such significant issues. For people like Stephen Ng, the very fact that this particular party stays in power is much more important than the rights of the non-Malays in this country.
This is the same Stephen Ng who ‘requested’ Prof Ramasamy to apologise for raising the issue of imbalance civil service. These people are fast becoming what they accused MCA in the past.
But to expect Indians to be loyal to such pretence would be impolitic. Indians in Malaysia are capable of making their own choices based on their own analysis; they don’t need analysis from accomplices of a farce multi-racial organisation. – Oct 11, 2023
Satees Muniandy was the former DAP state assemblyman of Bagan Dalam.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
