PETALING JAYA: The state government should work concertedly on solving the ills plaguing the Indian community in Selangor, said Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San.
The Indian community is still suffering from social problems such as high rate of unemployment, low level of education, and low household income.
"These problems faced by the minority group remain unsolved till now," said Lau when debating the Selangor government's Budget 2011 yesterday.
The solution to uplifting the Indian community's plight is to focus on social awareness and education, he said, adding that the government should accelerate the land transfer process of Tamil schools.
"Besides funding these schools, there should also be allocations for temples and cultural institutions of the Indian community.
"We need an efficient approach so that we can achieve a quantum leap in increasing the quality of life of this community," he said.
Lau urged the government to gazette the lands allocated for Tamil schools so that they would not be wiped out by development.
To emphasise his point on the social ills of the Indians, he cited the case where the sister of late R Surendran who was shot dead in Taman Klang Utama, Klang, in an attempted suicide by taking poison in November last year
Surendran was among five Indian robbery suspects who were gunned down by police. Overcome with grief, his sister also fed the liquid to her four children.
"This incident shows us how serious the problem is in Selangor. Such problems would jeopardise the peace and stability of the state if they are not tackled," said Lau.
Lau urged the government to reinvigorate the Farm Workers' Children Education Fund to assist poor Indian farmers who are now ekeing a living in the city.
On the urban poor, he asked the government to consider offering employment to single mothers as cleaners in local councils on a contractual basis.
"Instead of paying millions to Alam Flora which is often criticised, why don't the local councils take in this group?" he asked.
Review 'no plastic bag' programme
On another matter, Lau asked the state government to evaluate the effectiveness of its "no plastic bag" programme.
"There are several weaknesses we must look into. A detailed study must be done on the effectiveness of this campaign, specifically how far it has helped reduce the use of plastic bags."
Lau also asked for transparency in revealing where the 20 sen contribution for every plastic bag used by the public every Saturday goes to.
"Till now, the state government has not announced where the money has gone. I urge the government to do so from time to time," he said.
On development, Lau said Selangor still has many housing projects that are abandoned, adding that it was high time the government implemented a "build-then-sell" policy.
"The current sell-then-build system is disadvantageous to the unfortunate housebuyers who have to settle loans but still do not get their houses. This is unfair," he said.
On Petaling Jaya, Lau said that the redevelopment of the city was taking place too slowly.
"There are many places in Petating Jaya that have become old and unlivable. I ask that the government look into this as a lot of land is still bare and many buildings have become ghost buildings."
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