Hindraf wants institutional reforms to help B75 Indians

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has sent a 25-point memorandum to the Institutional Reforms Committee (IRC) urging the new government to look into the plight of the bottom 75 percent of the Indian community.

“This B75 segment of the Malaysian Indian poor are in effect the poorest in Malaysia, especially so when they have no political or economic power and do not even have the basic land or roofs over their heads or a social safety net, unlike the other communities.

“The tragedy is we may be fighting a losing battle (for the B75) unless Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad reverses (their suffering) via serious institutional reforms directly via the government machinery.

“This and not the 'wayang kulit’ programmes as done by Umno or MIC and to a lesser extent by the Selangor and Penang Pakatan Harapan state governments.

“We would now like to move forward and also assist Mahathir’s leadership especially in seriously redressing and undoing the racial injustices to the B75,” Hindraf de facto leader P Uthayakumar told reporters today outside Menara Ilham where the IRC is based.

An IRC secretariat representative, Zawiah Mohd Yusof, accepted the 12-page memorandum from Uthayakumar on behalf of the committee.

Among the 25 points in the memorandum, Hindraf mooted the idea of providing land ownership schemes to the B75 of the Indian community along the same veins of Felda and Felcra or land for cattle-farming.

They also suggested allocating licenses, permits and contracts for the B75 in various fields such as for plumbing, road maintenance, landscaping, petty trading, food trucks and so on.

Foreign workers should also be repatriated in stages as they currently take up jobs and business opportunities which would otherwise be available to the B75.

The B75 of the Indian community should also be allocated a 15 percent mandatory intake into public universities, polytechnic schools and Permata kindergartens every year, said Hindraf.

Uthayakumar said Hindraf will be watching the new federal government closely vis-à-vis its efforts in institutional reforms for the benefit of the Indian community. - Mkini