I like KEEMA but not KIMMA

KIMMA now claims that Indian Muslims are Malays; yet their actions speak otherwise

COMMENT

I like Keema. For those of you who had never heard of Keema, it is a famous Indian dish which has been prepared for several generations. It is cooked with ground mutton, lentils, sautéed vegetables, loads of potatoes and onions with curry powder as well as garam masala spices.

Preparing Keema isn’t difficult as long as you are patient. This is because there are many stages in making a good pot of Keema. First you need to salt the ground mutton and sizzle it in a pan until it browns just so. Then you set aside the mutton and throw in all chopped potatoes and vegetables into the pan and wait until it caramelises. Only then do the softened lentils, mutton and dry spices go in. In the final step we add vegetable stock, tomato paste and yogurt.

I fancy Keema so much that I tend to eat chapati, nan, puri, paratha and even tosai with it. But there is one thing which sounds like Keema but I cannot stand. And that’s KIMMA.

KIMMA or The Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress is a political party formed to represent the interests of the Indian Muslim community in Malaysia. The funny thing is, thirty five years after being established to protect the well-being of Indian Muslims, KIMMA now claims Indian Muslims are Malays.

Funny, but how can a person be an Indian Muslim and a Malay at the same time?

A Malay, according the Article 160 of our Federal Constitution is a person who is a Muslim, habitually speaks Malay and follows Malay customs. In my honest opinion, KIMMA does neither of this. They claim to be Malays but all their meetings are conducted in Tamil and their party song is sung in Tamil.  Even the members attending KIMMA’s event are usually spotted being dressed in kurta.

Err, can someone please tell me which part of these reflects the Malay custom?

Sorry to say but it seems to me that KIMMA is exploiting their religion for personal benefit.

It is so sad to note how easily people change when there’s a carrot hanging in front.

Few years ago, it was KIMMA who threw their support behind Tamil schools. They encouraged Indian Muslim parents to send their kids to Tamil schools to protect the use of Tamil as their mother tongue. However, lately they have changed direction and are supporting a single stream school system instead. Why the hypocrisy, KIMMA?

And that is not all, KIMMA has also vowed to stand strong behind Prime Minister Najib Razak and Barisan Nasional. They are even willing to organise a motorcycle convoy to show support for the Prime Minister’s leadership.

Wow, amazing ain’t it? I can’t recall KIMMA doing anything when Indian Muslim nasi kandar restaurants were accused of adding ganja to their food neither do I remember KIMMA making any statement when the government was considering plans to abolish 24 hour nasi kandar restaurants. But here they are now, ever eager to support Najib and the government.

Hmm…can someone please remind me why KIMMA was formed in the first place?

To the President of KIMMA, Senator Syed Ibrahim Kader I would like to ask: “Pirenthathu Indian. Valanthathu Indian. Yeppadi Malay aghe mudiyum?”

As Malays, perhaps the members of KIMMA now fancy budu and tempoyak instead of chutney and raita.

Oh well as for me, I’d rather stick to my Keema.

(Fa Abdul is an Indian Muslim and NOT a member of Kimma)