‘Indians livelihood far from satisfactory’

The destiny of Indians must change, says MIC president Palanivel today.

KUALA LUMPUR: The livelihood of the 1.8 million Indians in the country is far from satisfactory as the community has not moved in tandem with the nation’s development, MIC president G Palanivel said today.

Speaking at the opening of the 66th MIC general assembly at the Putra World Trade Centre here, he said the government must face the fact that Indians were still lagging behind and “the destiny of Indians must change.”

“And the real change comes when we connect to the people and they are inspired by genuine leadership. We have that in our prime minister. We must take the cue from him and stay focused.

“We must remember what we are about. What MIC is about. It is about building this community together. It is about equipping our people to succeed. It is about being their support system while guiding them towards a purposeful future,” he said.

The one-day MIC general assembly, attended by some 1,400 party delegates and 2,000 observers, was opened by Prime Minister and BN chief Najib Tun Razak.

He said the loyalty of Malaysian Indians cannot be questioned.

“We are very loyal this country. Despite all the hardship we never went back, we never gave up. We believe in Malaysia. We believe in working together.

“We may be vocal at times but it is really because we love this country and want it to be the best it can be. We chose to be here. This country is now our home. It will be the home for our children and for generations to come,” said the MIC chief during his pin drop silence speech.

Money for education
Speaking on Tamil schools, he said many Indians feel that the government has, in the past, not paid enough attention to the needs of Indians in the education segment, especially in the areas of early education, Tamil schools, Tamil language and tertiary education.

“In line with the recently announced education blue print that equal access in terms of facilities, content and methodology be available across all schools, the upgrading of Tamil schools need to be accelerated and put on a fast track.

“MIC feels that we need to ensure that Tamil schools can compete and will be on par with others within the next three years. I urge the government to give priority on this matter and allocate RM350 million a year to upgrade Tamil schools on a fast track basis until the target is met,” he added.

Palanivel also devoted a small portion of his speech to thank the prime minister’s wife Rosmah Mansor for pushing forward early childhood education through the Permata programme.

“Rosmah must have brought to your (Najib’s) attention and has successfully spearheaded the project as early childhood education is crucial for giving children a positive entry into the world of education.

“We congratulate Datin Seri (Rosmah) on the success of Permata kindergartens and hope it will extend to all Tamil schools in the future,” he said.

The MIC chief also wanted its Tafe college be upgraded into technical university status and the government to grant a RM30 million allocation to the Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED), the education arm of the party, and another matching grant for the AIMST University, which is also run by the MIC.

Stimulus package
He also suggested that a fund of RM10 million be set aside for capacity building that could benefit up to 1,500 Indian small and medium enterprises.

“On the same note, I am requesting another RM10 million annually for Yayasan Strategik Sosial, the social arm of the MIC, to train other young entrepreneurs and fresh graduates in various other fields,” he said.

He said while the government has yet to put in place any affirmative plans for the community to increase its equity in the country’s economic pie, there is now an urgent need to put in place a stimulus package to spur the community’s economic growth.

“My message today is for continuity, for loyalty and for a long term vision. The challenges we face as a community are real and diverse. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time.

“Community building needs experience and tenacity. It needs vision and thought. It is a long term mission,” said Palanivel.