Kabali a reflection of poor local Indians, says ex-gangster

A Muraly, who now runs an NGO to help the needy, proposes three initiatives to stem the spread of gangsterism among local Indian youths.

PETALING JAYA: About 70 per cent of Tamil blockbuster “Kabali” reflects the “dark and violent” side of low-income Indian families and youths.

This is the view of former gangster turned NGO head, A Muraly.

Muraly, who spent six years behind bars after stabbing a trader at the Selayang Wet Market in 1992, now runs “Tamilan Uthavum Karangal” (Tamilian Helping Hands), an NGO which helps the unfortunate and the needy.

According to him, youths from poor and dysfunctional families were easily lured into a world of crime.

“Most of the gangsters are from broken families. They do not know what to do with their lives and are always full of anger and frustration.

“If NGOs or the government can identify these youths when they are in Form Four, then they can be guided and counselled until they complete Form Five,” he said at the “Kabali – Myth or Reality, Historical or Imaginary?” forum organised by the Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA) yesterday.

He proposed three initiatives to stop the spread of gangsterism in the country.

First, was to take in youths from “high-risk” areas into the police force. Secondly, pay RM500 more to Malaysian Indian youths to become security guards, and finally, give them soft loans to start businesses.

“Those who don’t score a credit in Malay, should be able to join lower-ranking positions in the police force. For a start, if we can have 5,000 youths from high-risk areas recruited into the force, in 10 years, we could possibly stop 50,000 youths from becoming gangsters,” he said.

He said in 10 years, the current crop of gangsters would be old and with fewer youths joining triads and gangs, it will result in a sharp drop in the number of Indian gangsters.

Muraly added the government should also moot the idea of hiring locals as security guards and pay them RM500 more monthly than the present salary paid to Nepali guards.

“By giving a bit more money, the youths may work as security guards. At least, they can feed their families.

“Right now, many of them are in jail and their children have lost their father figure. The families become dysfunctional, causing the vicious cycle to start all over again.”

The forum was attended by several Indian NGOs, as well as academicians, who gave their views on Kabali, the movie starring Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. The movie, partly shot in Malaysia, showcases the plight of the Malaysian Indian community.

Malaysian Indians constitute only about seven per cent of the population, but recent statistics reveal that nearly 70 per cent of the 40,000 gang members nationwide, are ethnic Indians. This means the involvement of Indians in crime is disproportionate to the population.

Lawyer SP Pathi, who runs the MySkills college in Klang, mainly for “At-risk” Indian youths, says gangsterism among Indian youths could not be ignored any more.

“During my younger days, there were only a few gangsters in my village, now there are 50 to 60 boys in one group. That is only from my area, what about others? If we do not acknowledge the problem, it will get out of hand.”

Meanwhile, KITA’s principal researcher, Dr Denison Jayasooria, said Malaysia lacked NGOs which dealt with youths released from prisons.

“There are no civil societies to assist them (released prisoners). Most of their families do not want them and so most of them go back to committing crime,” he said.