Indians must make their votes count

The Indians have to rid themselves of their 'mental marginalisation' and stop looking for immediate favours.

COMMENT

The Indian community in Malaysia is being led by some Tamils who are only in it to pursue their own selfish interests, and in the process betray the entire Indian community.

The real Malaysian Indian professionals prefer to remain miles away from the grasp of these politicians in order to keep their image and name free from blemish.

Also to note is that many Indians who are not Tamils are lumped into this group and similarly branded. This explains why the prominent Sikhs, Malayalees and Telugus prefer to stay away.

Indians in this country need the leadership that will take them to the level where they can use their votes as Malaysians rather than Indians, and that their votes in toto will swing towards parties which will ensure them a fair share of the pie.

This voting pattern could swing from right to left and to the right again depending on what is gained or not.

Indians must keep small issues small and the big picture has to be taken into account.

Indians need to regain their pride, they need to be recognised as one of the biggest partners in nation building and not merely as indented labour, not much better than slaves.

They need to realise that they are not the only community that is marginalised.

If one takes a close look at the native population of this country, the Orang Asli seems to be in worse shape than the Malaysian Indians.

It is not only the Indians who are marginalised. There are the Senoi, Jakun, Negrito, Dayak, Iban, Kadazan and all the other real natives of this country. They are far more marginalised than the Indians.

In professional circles among the doctors, engineers, lawyers and in other professions, the Indians when compared to, in ratio of population, may seem even better off than the other major races, so why is it there is a great number that is marginalised?

The answer lies in the selfish few, who claim to represent Indian interest, but in this pursuit actually enrich themselves just like the Umno top brass.

The Indians have to rid themselves of this mental marginalisation, they have to stop looking for immediate favours, they have to look at the long term and elect leaders who will do this for them.

The formation of more political parties will only make the community worse.

Indian must stop wallowing

Many of the Indian brains, like the brains of the other communities, have left the country for greener pastures. The less fortunate are left to fend for themselves and most often at their own expense and to their own peril.

These “less fortunate” support people – the so-called Indian political parties – who thrive on this support to serve their own purpose.

At the rate Indian political parties are being formed, it is only matter of time before there are more Indian political parties than there are Indians in this country.

Do the Indians who form a political party at every turn, really think that these political parties will represent their interests? If they think this is so, then these Indians are idiots of the highest order.

Indians must first come to grips with representation, and in so doing, the question that goes abegging is: “Which parliamentary constituency in Malaysia commands an Indian majority electorate?”

The sad truth is there isn’t even one parliamentary or state constituency, so where are these political parties headed for, and who do they really represent?

The truth is the Indian political parties represent themselves (individuals who form these parties).

And in their respective parties, they share the loot to support Umno’s pipe dream. Their respective earnings will commensurate with their position in the party hierarchy.

Indians have to take stock, and stop wallowing in self-pity: you are not the only ones marginalised.

If we follow a policy of taking care of the have-nots, then all those who live below the poverty line, every marginalised Malaysian – be they Indian, Chinese or Malay, Kadazaan, or Dusun, Negrito, or Orang Laut – will be given the first bite of the pie.

And that is what a party like Hindraf and every other Malaysian should strive for.

If we fall for these petty racial games, we shall be doomed to remain as the Asia Week once put it, “The orphaned children of Southeast Asia.”

Toffee Rozario is a businessman who spends his free time writing to create awareness. He blogs at Toffee’sTurn.