P Dev Anand Pillai ,
Much hype has been created after two lawyer brothers had been arrested and remanded to help the police in the investigations into the murders the cosmetics queen Sosilawati. The two lawyer brothers being ethnic Indians, has now brought about the same old rhetoric about the modus operandi of these gruesome murders which apes the styles of murders acted in Tamil movies.
So the moral of the story is that reduce the number of Tamil movies being screened and Indian Malaysians will not resort to violence anymore. Is it as easy as that? I have my doubts. I do agree with many of the well-researched analyses provided by many that the main cause of Indian youths turning to violence is because of the lack of opportunities in any sphere of their lives.
It is easy to blame the MIC but as Indian Malaysians aren’t we also entitled to equality in treatment and opportunities in this beloved land of ours? Why do we finally say that it has been the fault of the MIC for not speaking up for the Indians? Shouldn’t it be the BN government of the day led by Umno since Independence who should bear the burden of responding to such a demand?
There was once a time when we used to see many Indian headmasters/mistresses of secondary schools, Indian police state chiefs, Indian government servants in the railways, waterworks, public utilities, sport bodies and many other arenas but all this is history now. We do not even see Indian boys and girls being elected as head prefects of their schools anymore. If ever we do come across one, it would be a rarity but sadly that is the current status quo.
So with this unequal situation, what do these youths do with their energy? If it is not tapped by the government which was brought to power with their votes, the underworld will tap into this vast human resource to expand their activities. When this happens, we quickly point fingers but do we stop to resolve a way to overcome this imbalance?
After many years of mental slumber where most were lulled into being unable to think, a revolt came and it brought about a jolt in the Indian mind which has now woken up but is it fair to blame current Pakatan Rakyat \governments for what had been socially engineered by the BN for the past 53 years? Can a new Pakatan government do magic by waving their magic wand and change the situation overnight?
From what we have seen so far in most sensational criminal cases, Indians seem to be the best ‘runners’, middlemen, henchmen, scapegoats, point men and foot soldiers for those high up in the social strata who may be of other ethnic races in the country. What can be seen from this is that for the Indian, if a call comes from those high up in positions of power, like the government, politicians and wealthy businessmen, they will heed the call and do as instructed.
So what we have is a loyal and blind allegiance mentality which many feel will uplift them socially. Can we blame them? Who won’t want that. But are we harnessing this energy for the right purpose?
What if more opportunities were given based on merit, ability, interest and the will to succeed without ever bringing in the colour of the skin or the religion that one belongs to. Wouldn’t it direct their energies to doing good and benefitting society along the way? As the HRP secretary general P Uthayakumar had pointed out, many are still roaming the country without proper birth documents although they would have been in this country for the past three to four generations. Licenses, franchises, operating permits for petrol stations, stalls at highway rest areas are still not given to the Indians. The Umno- led federal government fails to realise that all these socials ills will eventually give Malaysia a very bad name internationally in every sphere from politics to human rights.
It will reflect badly on them but having been at the helm for the past five decades why didn’t they do some thing to stop this imbalance? Has this been a master plan to slowly get the Indians out of the mainstream or has it been a plain ‘not-at-all-bothered attitude’ shown towards the Indians?
It is of no use to coax and cajole Indians of different South Indian heritage by attending gatherings organized by the Tamils, Telegus and Malayalees. it would be better to get the job done by opening the doors of opportunity for the best to serve. If Tony Fernandez has made AirAsia soar high in the low-cost airline industry, then he must be seen as a Malaysian of Indian decent who has made the country proud instead of being seen as a threat to other races.
The same will be applicable to the likes of Ananda Krishnan of Maxis, Ganalingam of West Port and AK Nathan of Eversendai. They must be seen as the Malaysia’s ability and strength instead of being viewed with the racial lens.
Malaysia’s strength lies in its diversity and if we fail to realise and tap that resource, it will be our failure to realize a very bright future in the development of our mindset. We seek equality in every sense of the word.
