YOURSAY | Indian lives and votes matter

YOURSAY | ‘Many feel Anwar has given Indians the cold shoulder.’

COMMENT | Holistic perspective needed in addressing plight of Indians

COMMENT | State polls: Important Indian vote

Falcon: Malaysiakini columnist and research associate Bridget Welsh, you are right on all counts!

For the Malaysian Indians, it has been a gradual alienation and displacement without any meaningful affirmative programmes such as those for the majority community!

A comprehensive in-depth study will show they have already fallen far behind in comparison to other communities that include economic and political migrants from Indonesia, West Asia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the failed states of the African continent.

The formula that was used by BN is cut and pasted by new political operatives and power brokers.

The result - those picked or appointed end up robbing what’s for the community, for themselves and their insiders.

We are the brunt of jokes and abuse, after over 60 years of struggling, to even get official documentation as citizens?

Inexplicably, some politicians think singing an Indian song, dressing in Indian attire or worse, inviting a South Indian film star to election campaigns will swing the votes!

Yes, they have profiled us! We have been displaced on all fronts and it is getting worse.

Our parents mortgaged whatever they had to send us to university.

As a community, we were not given university courses of our choice of study. From cradle to the grave, we are facing challenges.

Our dedication, contributions, and sacrifices from the time of pre-independence to date mean nothing as two powerful political entities fight to control the dominance of their own community with a few Indians thrown in the mix to show ‘unity’.

Today the wealth of past Indian leaders and their insiders have yet to be investigated! Their identities are no secret to the establishment! From my vantage point, as a community, we are in a tunnel and I don’t see any light or future!

Kilimanjaro: Most of the Indians I have talked to don’t trust Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Hard it may seem and sound, but the trust in Anwar and Pakatan Harapan has declined. I have been cautioned of this trend in the last few months.

Bridget is spot on when she writes that Anwar and his government have not paid due attention to the needs of Indians and it has just been a cosmetic exercise from Harapan.

Some have told me they may vote for Perikatan Nasional (PN), not out of love for PN but as a protest against Harapan.

Alarmingly, a number of them have told me they are going to sleep at home or go out holidaying instead of going to the polling booth.

Chennah assemblyperson Anthony Loke tells us that the Negeri Sembilan caretaker menteri besar Aminuddin Harun has taken care of all the people in the state, but from the info I get, Indians prefer Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan.

I wonder why?

Many feel Anwar has given the Indians the cold shoulder. All he cares about is the Malay vote. Even the Chinese leaders in the DAP are more interested in getting the Malay votes, as they take the Indian votes for granted.

The ‘towkays’ of the DAP are not that different from the ‘towkays’ of the MCA. The Indians are a forgotten race and are only figured during elections. It’s all the same with these mainstream parties.

Dr Simple Dimple: The Indian community is the ‘sucked oranges’ of the nation.

From the time they arrived from India, they’ve been exploited, humiliated, deprived, and given much less than what is rightfully due to them.

They tapped rubber, picked tea leaves, built roads, cleared forests, and did the worst possible jobs to build the nation.

Yet, they’ve never got the recognition they deserve.

The natives of Sarawak and Sabah have good representation at the federal level, unlike the poor Indians. Does their vote matter?

Man on the Silver Mountain: If they don’t vote for Harapan, then they have to accept the consequences. If you are not voting, then you forfeit the right to complain.

Kedah caretaker menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor cancelled a religious public holiday and demolished a temple. How could that be better for them?

More importantly, you have a platform to bring forward your grievance. On the other hand, whether anything can be done, is another matter.

An entitlement attitude just because of your votes is also not always the way to go. There are many factors to any decision.

Eaglebaby05: Indians are not against special rights for Malays.

They are not against the economic help given to Malays. What they are asking for is to increase the available places in higher institutions – without taking anything away from Malays.

It can be done without pain to others. Just allocate the funds to increase the seats in higher education institutions so that eligible Indian students can be accommodated.

Provide Indians with education –they can handle their lives on their own after that.

GhostRider: The Indians did the backbreaking labour to build this nation and have not been recognised but further exploited by their thieving leaders.

Now they expect Harapan to fix everything in short order and, when disappointed, want to vote against Harapan to register their disappointment. Who can blame them?

But it will be a major generational mistake. Changes take time and are hard work. If Indians don’t stay the course, their future can only be bleak.

Anand SP: The Malaysian Indian voters should come out in force and vote for anyone other than Harapan to show their displeasure.

At least, in this way, the current regime under Anwar will take notice and come up with some meaningful programmes for improving their lot.

Mojo: The Indian community should be patient and stand steadfast with Harapan. It has been only eight months since the federal government was formed.

There’s just one more hurdle to clear, the upcoming state elections. Don’t waver in your support, faith in the government.

Things will change, given a bit of time. God bless.

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