MIC: Indian only in name, nothing more

It is shameful that MIC is still silent over the issue of the Vivekananda Ashram in Brickfields.

COMMENT

By A Pillai

Now that Culture and Tourism Minister Mohamed Nazri Aziz has come out openly and aggressively to thwart the development of the Vivekananda Ashram in Brickfields, the obvious question is: “Where are the senior MIC leaders in regard to the ashram?”

Wasn’t M Saravanan the Federal Territories deputy minister for years? Can he not do something? Or is it that in this country only Umno ministers have the power to effect change?

Not a day goes by that MIC leaders go out of their way to remind Indians across this wonderful nation that they have to support the party, because MIC is the one with the power and access to actuate change for the community.

Yet when the opportunity arrives, then festers, all the Indian community gets is a huge yawn of silence as MIC leaders fail once again to use their so-called powerful connections and influence with the Najib Cabinet and administration.

You can hear a pin drop for all of MIC’s silence on the issue of the Vivekananda Ashram. Was this claim of power and influence just a claim and nothing more?

What is the point of having Indian leaders in the government if they are just as powerless as those outside? Can you blame Indians for shifting their support to Pakatan Rakyat or even to the many Hindraf-like NGOs out there, because those in MIC lack the courage and will to fight for Indian issues?

The Vivekananda Ashram has stood in Brickfields for over a century. It has also stood as a symbol of intellectual and cultural development of the Indian people in this country.

While the Vivekananda Ashram Kuala Lumpur management committee argues that the development will not destroy the old building or the statue of Swami Vivekananda, they cannot deny that developing around it will drastically change the aesthetics of the site. Once development takes shape, the ashram will merely be a displaced old building crowded out by other large buildings in its vicinity.

For decades Brickfields has been a famous spot in Kuala Lumpur. However in the last decade or so, it has become a major location with the greater development of KL Sentral. With the ERL station in it, it is the doorway to the country, and that doorway is only a few hundred metres from the Vivekananda Ashram.

The Ashram is as much a Malaysian site as it is an Indian-Malaysian one, and to deny it a good, independent and unique presence when so many will be passing it daily, is to say that a prosperous and modern Malaysia does not require an Indian cultural centre presented unhindered to the peoples of the world.

What does the Vivekananda Ashram mean to the Indian people of Malaysia? The visit of Swami Vivekananda to Malaya in 1893 and the opening of the Ashram in 1904 are part of global story-telling. It is a point of pride. It shows progressive and modern Indian ideas which are universal.

Preserving the ashram as is stands, presents the level in which Malaysian Indian identities are regarded. Does the MIC not care about these things? I wonder about this especially when thinking about leaders like president G Palanivel and M Saravanan.

Are they not ashamed that when there is a protest to defend the ashram, it is led by community leaders of the area and even opposition leaders like Nurul Izzah Anwar? Yes, Brickfields may very well fall under her parliamentary constituency but when we see her and only her with other Pakatan Rakyat leaders like Manivanan of Kapar, we are forced to wonder if there is any life still coursing through the veins of senior MIC leaders.

Truth is, I do not care a lot about politics, but I will remember the politicians who care about my issues. I am not alone, there are many like me. I rather vote for a non-Indian group if they are willing to defend Indian issues like the Vivekananda Ashram, and forget about MIC leaders who are only Indian by name but not when it comes to defending Indian issues.

Save Vivekananda Ashram, Save MIC!

A Pillai is an FMT reader