Malaysian Indians in ‘no-man’s land’

 

There is a Malay proverb, “Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi.” It is a saying usually used to describe the betrayal of trust by those to whom we give positions of responsibility.

It is perhaps the best way to describe the plight of the Malaysian Indian community.

Since independence, the community, which is one of the smallest amongst the main races in Malaysia, has depended on the benevolence of others to sustain, grow, and survive. For over 50 years, the community through MIC staunchly supported the Alliance, which later became BN.

The belief among Indians was that since MIC had Umno’s backing, it was the best option for the community. Over the years MIC orchestrated mass indoctrination, and spun the narrative that they were the “sole” party capable of championing the rights of Malaysian Indians. So, the community repeatedly voted for BN.

But, throughout the 50 years, the internal squabbles, the mismanagement of government funds allocated to the community, the proliferation of cronyism, the tacit practice of caste-based leadership, and internal “racism” within the MIC, led to the community languishing behind the rest of the races in our country.

Of course, there are sporadic success stories of Malaysian Indians being top-notch professionals in the legal and the medical fields. The nation has also seen highly educated Malaysian Indians as university professors, administrators, entrepreneurs, and such.

But, the community as a whole, is the most marginalised and displaced in Malaysia.

Then, something significant happened in 2007.

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A mass rally ignited the community. The rally organiser, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), had called for a protest over the repeated discriminatory policies in the country. It was estimated that between 30,000 to 50,000 Malaysian Indians gathered in central Kuala Lumpur to protest the sidelining of the community through decades of BN rule.

The Hindraf movement captured the hearts and minds of the community. From being traditional MIC-BN voters, Malaysian Indians started looking at alternatives.

The community was a late entrant in voting for the then opposition. Parties like PKR and DAP sensed a grand opportunity, and started cajoling and inviting Malaysian Indians to their side. They claimed that they would champion the rights of the community.

And, after years of servitude to MIC and BN with not much to show, Malaysian Indians mustered the courage to move to these opposition parties. In the 2008 general elections, many Indian candidates were fielded for parliamentary and state seats by the opposition.

Many were unknown faces with very little history in their new parties. They were not given “safe” seats, but were thrust into the competition, nonetheless. That year, the opposition did not manage to take over the federal government, but voters caused a “tsunami” and gave them wins in the state elections.

Kedah, Penang, Perak, and Selangor fell like houses of cards, after decades of BN rule. In one state, an opposition novice, a Malaysian Indian candidate, beat the incumbent BN chief minister by a thumping majority.

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The Hindraf rally and the shifting mindset of the Indian community seemed to be the tipping point for the hitherto, life-long opposition parties. Malaysian Indians played a momentous role in suddenly lifting them to power in these states.

An already marginalised community in mainstream Malaysia, Malaysian Indians sought refuge in PKR and DAP. And, since then, the MIC has slowly but quite clearly lost its stranglehold on the community. From being the third biggest component party in BN, it has been brutally decimated.

But 15 years on, where is the community as a whole?

The sporadically successful people I referred to, looked after their own kids, educated them, mainly outside Malaysia, and that cycle of smart Malaysian Indian professionals continues today. But they form a small minority within what remains a largely displaced community with very little opportunities.

Malaysian Indians shifted their allegiance to PKR and DAP, only to find themselves in subjugation under new political masters. These parties still marginalise the community within their ranks. The Indians who speak their own mind, or stand-up for the community as a matter of principle, still get sidelined.

Ironically, our erstwhile kleptocrat prime minister, who now calls prison home, much to the delight of many Malaysians, was probably the only leader who publicly declared, “…I can truly say that without Malaysian Indians, Malaysia simply would not be what it is today…” He wrote this in an op-ed published in The Hindustan Times of India, in 2017.

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The community forms 7% of the Malaysian population. It is small, yet significant enough to not depend on the false promises of any political party. After nearly seven decades of independence, Malaysian Indians are still treated like second- or third-class citizens in their own motherland.

This is simply not good enough. And, no political party is going to help.

Malaysian Indians can only depend on themselves to undo the damage of decades of servitude and serfdom. But, will the community rise to occasion? - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT,