Najib :Govt to aid Indians in transition from estates to modern community

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Razak says he is placing priority on looking after Indians in Malaysia as they are undergoing a transition from being known as “estate people” to becoming a modern community.

Describing it as a unique challenge, he said the process needed special attention from the government to help ensure the community’s economic structure was sound.

“I am placing emphasis on Indians because they face several unique challenges, especially that on the community’s structural strength,” he said.

“Moving away from estates and plantations which are now becoming increasingly used for other purposes, the new generation needs specific assistance so that the transition from being an estate community to a modern community can become a reality,” he said.

Najib said this in his speech when officiating at the ninth annual general meeting of the Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party here today.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman said the initiative to create and implement the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (MIB) was in line with this effort.

“Never before in Malaysian history was there a record in the parliamentary Hansard of a programme named ‘Indian blueprint’ being tabled with the national budget,” he said.

He urged for support for the BN as it was fulfilling its promise compared to what was being done by the opposition.

“Do not trust empty promises. In Tamil, an empty promise is called ‘vetti pechu’. However, if a promise becomes reality it is called ‘niijem’,” he said, adding that the BN government would continue with its numerous efforts to serve the people.

On April 23, Najib had launched the MIB, the federal government’s ten-year action plan to uplift the socio-economic status of Indians, with an allocation of more than RM1 billion.

The yearly targets of the MIB are annually audited by a monitoring body for tabling to the Cabinet Committee on Indian Participation in Government Programmes and Projects (CCIC) and its executive committee.

In tabling Budget 2018 Najib had listed a number of incentives and programmes to enhance the well-being of Indians.

They included a new initiative for the community amounting to RM1.5 billion in the form of additional units of Amanah Saham 1Malaysia.

He also said new intakes of Indians to public higher learning institutions and the public service would be increased to a targeted 7% as highlighted in the MIB.

He also announced an allocation of RM50 million to Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (Tekun) to assist more than 35,000 entrepreneurs from the community, and an injection of an additional RM50 million into the community’s socioeconomic development programmes. -FMT