Malaysian Indians should learn from Singapore Indians

 

Most Malaysians were captivated by the recent “socks” saga in the country. This palaver is very much part of the “stoking religious sentiments” playbook that some miscreant politicians use. But this kind of mêlée is already “normalised” in our country, so it is astounding to see people still getting wound up by such issues.

Now while the country was engrossed in this episode, another tale was unfolding. But perhaps because it concerns a minority community, which is stereotyped for in-fighting, Malaysians have not bothered as much.

The best way to sum up the sentiment came from a friend of mine who bellowed “…haiya, you Indians, always the same la,” when I asked him about it.

Currently, we have three politicians in government from the same party, who are bickering in public, like “The Three Stooges.” Two of them are deputy ministers, and another is a member of parliament who has been newly appointed as the chairman of the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit, (Mitra).

For those who don’t know, in 2018, Mitra was a rebrand of the original Socioeconomic Development of the Indian Community (Sedic). In its statement of intent, the Mitra website says it is charged with identifying “…current issues and challenges affecting the Indian community, implementing socio-economic development initiatives and coordinating cooperation between the government and the private sector towards the development of the Indian community in general.” A very noble intent, of course.

Recently, Mitra was removed from the Prime Minister’s Department and rehoused under the National Unity Ministry. With this, it left the care of one deputy minister and moved to another. (In the latest development, Mitra is now back under the Prime Minister’s Department.)

Both the deputy ministers are Indians, and come from the prime minister’s own political party, PKR. But they are at loggerheads in public. Social media is awash with allegations and denials, accusations of mismanagement and rebuttals. How ironic is it that both the protagonists are colleagues in the same political party? One would have thought that they could have had a friendly chin-wag or pow-wow and sorted the mess out.

Allegations of misuse of public funds set aside for the Indian community are not new. For years, even with former Indian political parties who were in power, and with now deceased Indian political strongmen, these contentions surfaced repeatedly.

The fact that these two deputy ministers can’t resolve their differences without becoming the laughing stock of other communities, speaks volumes about the political machinations within the Indian community in Malaysia. And, as always, it is the community that suffers.

Conversely in Singapore, our erstwhile former federal comrade, the Indian community has flourished, and developed by leaps and bounds. In 1991, the country established the Singapore Indian Development Association (SINDA) as a Self-Help Group (SHG). There are similar SHGs for the Chinese, Eurasian, and Muslim communities too.

SINDA was set up to uplift the socio-economic status of the Indian community in Singapore. Its primary focus was on education, and it aimed to raise the academic performance of Indian students and youth through tutorials, and enrichment programmes. Additionally, it also offered a wide range of services to support parents and help families in need.

Since its establishment, the association worked closely with many volunteers, schools, and grassroots organisations. Today, 33 years after it started, SINDA has evolved into a credible organisation that serves as a pillar of the Singapore Indian community.

SINDA’s patron is the country’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong, its chairman is K Shanmugam, the current minister of law, its advisors include Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the current foreign minister, and its life trustees include former leaders like Prof S Jayakumar and S Dhanabalan.

Its funds come from obligatory contributions through its CPF Board (much like our EPF) which makes deductions from employees of Indian descent, and this includes all people originating from the Indian sub-continent.

If your earning is SG$1,000 or less per month, your contribution is SG$1, If your earning is SG$15,000 or more per month, your contribution is SG$30. But here’s the thing, while the government strongly encourages individuals to contribute, it also allows you to opt out if you want to. I have friends who have confirmed that they have chosen to opt out.

Earlier this year, SINDA announced that it has broadened its eligibility criteria for educational programmes, benefiting 11,000 or 12% more Indian families in Singapore. The association brings in millions of Singapore dollars of contributions each year, and all their financial records are in the public domain for anybody to check and scrutinise.

While SINDA in Singapore is growing and helping Indians, Mitra in Malaysia is being shunted from one ministry to another, like an unwanted step-child, even while the Indian leaders in-charge of heading the unit, argue about each other’s mismanagement.

If we, as a community, cannot even learn to help ourselves effectively without quarrelling and infighting, how will the disadvantaged sections of our community ever be elevated? And, why in God’s name do we have so many Indian politicians, if none of them can be useful to the community? - FMT

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