The following is a response to a letter from Kim Quek in Malaysiakini which I have appended below.
At the outset, I would like to say that even though I offer different opinions than our erstwhile Mr. Kim Quek, I am myself a strong proponent of regime change in our country. There are significant assumptions in Mr.Kim Quek's arguments that need to be dealt with. The conclusions may be the same, but the assumptions are vastly different.
In Kim Quek's words - Let us start our deliberation by first asking this question: Has there been a government policy to deliberately marginalize the Indian community? Kim Quek says no.
Take this case – a young girl has no birth certificate for no fault of hers and gets all As in her UPSR, something she was able to attain because of some sympathetic Headmaster in one of the Tamil primary schools. She is refused admission to secondary school. Denying any human being a right to basic education is the denial of a very fundamental right in any century, in any country, let alone in the 21st century and in this up and coming Malaysia.
Mr. Kim Quek, I ask you, is this act of denying this little girl her fundamental right acceptable even in the least, because it is not deliberate policy.
Even then, if this were an isolated case, I could agree with you, that we can overlook it because it was one of those inadvertent occurrences. But if this multiplies time and time again in many similar situations where the Government bureaucracy systematically looks for opportunities to deny the poor Indians a chance to a citizen's basic human right, is that still to be considered not deliberate policy.
The bureaucracy is an extension of UMNO, brought into existence in its present form so that the state policy of apartheid like discrimination can be systematically applied. This is well known. Is that not deliberate policy but just the working of an incompetent and corrupt bureaucracy. Politicians will have us believe that, it is so convenient an argument. Why, Mr.Kim Quek are you using the same argument?
Mr. Kim Quek, you are going to come running back and say, "Oh no, that is not what I meant. What I meant was that there was no deliberate policy on the part of the government to marginalize just the Indians" Well, Mr. Kim Quek, I say to you, when the hill slopes of Bukit Antarabangsa slid down the other day, that was not because of a deliberate policy. But does it matter…the people have lost their homes. Afterwards it is academic whether it was deliberate policy or otherwise, the problem happened because the system worked to make that problem happen - the system that was deliberately created.
Likewise when there is such a large problem simmering with the marginalization of the Indians and for so long and continues in spite of such loud feedbacks, can you still say it is not deliberate. When the powers that be continue to turn a deaf ear to the problem and provide lip service at best after all that has happened. Mr.Kim Quek, is that still not deliberate. I can only conclude from all of this that it is not that you have not understood it in this manner, you just prefer to see it the way you do. Mr.Kim Quek, this is where your underlying assumptions are exposed.
The Indians in this country have to be spoken to and not spoken with, is an implicit assumption that you make – maybe it is so commonplace for the likes of you, that you may not even recognize that you are doing it. You do not really have the facts of the working class Indians daily life, nor do you care, as I understand from your treatment of the issue. For you, the Indian is needed only for his vote, and loss of it will mean rocking of the boat that is headed for change and which is going to benefit the likes of you, not the marginalized Indians themselves whom you seem to be speaking up for. So, you say the same things that have been told to the Indians for the last fifty years – be patient.
I say rubbish to all of that; time is not the issue here. Come 5 years from now, I do not see a substantial change happening, given the present drift. The issue here is the lack of will. Plain and simple – lack of will to do the things that are necessary to change the state of affairs.
There are so many things that a State government can do on a priority basis for the most marginalized. We cannot change the bureaucrats, but we can start setting up watchdog citizens committees to watch over the shoulders of the bureaucrats. We can start becoming more transparent on more issues, especially where it relates to the poor and the marginalized. State land can be more productively used by distributing it to the poor. Special scholarship schemes can be setup to pull in all the underemployed or currently unemployable youths in the 18 -25 category and places allocated to them in skills training institution, or special institutions be set up for this purpose, single mothersto be identified and treated on priority basis – but nothing like this is happening. Only excuses are being given for maintaining status quo. Nor do I see meaningful discussion going on in this respect. But then, it is always the numbers game after the elections. Marginalized Indians are too small a group to give priority to. What will the others say?
Mr. Kim Quek, I do not understand how suddenly you become an apologist for the perpetrators of this regime on this issue. If you are the parent of that little Indian lass maybe you will understand. But you are not and never can be. The least you can do is not masquerade.
You insult our intelligence when you say stupid things like" What is the solution to the Indian predicament then? Would it help by giving a few more government posts or contracts to Indians by a state government? While that will make a few Indians happy, it would not alleviate the prevailing poverty of Indians, who number almost two million."
You think this is rocket science that you are revealing here. You are not able to differentiate the symbols of the problem from the real problem. So, what is being done for the two million marginalized Indians now – you tell me Mr.Kim Quek. Every time this is the same stupid argument that is brought up. But nothing seems to be happening for the very poor people referred to in that argument. It is all just too convenient.
Then Mr.Kim Quek, you say" Under the circumstances, the best bet for marginalized Indians, and in fact for all Malaysians, is to work for the speedy realization of a Pakatan federal government, which will bring healing and genuine nation-building to the country." I tell you, Mr.Kim Quek you make a faulty assumption here – the Federal Government of the Pakatan will only be speedily and robustly realized when the poor and marginalized are truly taken care of now. Their vote is not to be given at the hint of the afterworld. It will be given for the here and now.
So, Mr. Kim Quek, please review your assumptions because we are all not going to get very far with your current assumptions – progressive as it may seem. We want, not just a change to the names of the parties that are in power. We want true change. Not promises of change – but change that we all can feel and appreciate.
Viva la Makkal.
United we stand
United we act.
Open letter to Indian leaders in Pakatan
Kim Quek | Jan 2, 09 11:30am Malaysiakini
In the light of recent grouses among certain Indian leaders against the Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government for neglecting Indian interests, I am writing this open letter to share my thoughts.
Let us start with the Hindraf movement. The reason why this movement has won so much sympathy among all races is because it has expounded a truth – that Indians have been marginalised.
So we shall establish the first principle in this discourse – Indian Malaysians have been marginalised.
That, however, is the easy part. The real challenge is: how do we save the Indians from marginalisation?
Do we strengthen MIC so that it has a bigger say in Barisan Nasional? I don't think many like this idea, simply because it has not worked for 50 years.
Do we start a new Indian party just like S Nallakaruppan did when he broke off from PKR just before the Ijok by-election in April 2007? I think we can all agree that Nalla and his party have got no where, so better forget about this idea. It is common sense anyway that the proliferation of Indian parties can only weaken the Indian position.
Or do we continue the Hindraf struggle? That, of course, is a serious question, for which careful thoughts must be given.
Indians most neglected by gov't
Let us start our deliberation by first asking this question: Has there been a government policy to deliberately marginalise the Indian community?
In all honesty, I do not think so, despite my years of fierce criticism of the Umno-led BN government. For that matter, I do not think the government has targeted any racial group for marginalisation – be they Chinese, Indians or the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.
Marginalisation of large sections of Malaysians is a result of bad policies implemented by a corrupt leadership. The New Economic Policy, which symbolises Umno's racial agenda, actually started off on sound affirmative action principles to eradicate poverty and redress social and economic imbalance, but soon degenerated into a racist tool by Umno to amass wealth for its leaders and cronies through political hegemony.
Though the policy has largely uplifted the educational and economic status of Malays, Umno's corrupt and dictatorial rule on the back of its racist ideology has wrought devastating consequences – an authoritarian state torn by racial dissension where vast populations are impoverished through corruption, squandering and sheer incompetence.
As a result, all races have fallen victims to such misrule. Admittedly, Indians are among the most neglected, though ironically Malays constitute the biggest racial group in the impoverished category, while the natives of Sabah and Sarawak are stuck in a warped time zone of yesteryears with scant infrastructures and educational facilities to develop their economic potentials.
With this, we shall agree on the second principle of this discourse: Indians have not been singled out for marginalisation, but rather, they are part of the wider Malaysian society (save the Umnoputras) which has fallen victim to a corrupt elitist rule.
What is the solution to the Indian predicament then? Would it help by giving a few more government posts or contracts to Indians by a state government? While that will make a few Indians happy, it would not alleviate the prevailing poverty of Indians, who number almost two million.
Besides, the role that a state government can play in altering the political course of the nation is limited, as its authority covers only land matters and local councils, and its financial resources negligible compared to that of the federal government (the revenue of the richest state government of Selangor amounts to hardly 1% of the federal government revenue).
Problem cannot be solved in isolation Malaysia's problem is acute economic and political mismanagement, one consequence of which (among many) is manifested in the marginalisation of Indians. So the Indian problem cannot be solved in isolation, without changing national policies, which in turn can only take place by changing the national leadership.
The present national leadership is too entrenched with its addiction to easy wealth through racist protectionism and corrupt institutions to effect any meaningful change to the status quo. And without the necessary reforms to restore confidence and improve competitiveness and productivity, there is no way we can extricate ourselves from the current economic malaise.
This means all Malaysians – including Indians of course – will continue to suffer the economic hardships, more so in this turbulent time of unprecedented world financial and economic crisis.
With the nation plunging into deeper debts under current adverse economic conditions, and the incumbent power is even more determined to pursue its racist policy in order to strengthen its traditional electoral support base, what hope is there for Indians to improve their livelihood while Umno/BN continues to remain in power?
In contrast, Pakatan Rakyat's agenda to reinstate democracy and good governance and restore egalitarianism under the constitution whereby all citizens are guaranteed equal rights offers the best recipe to re-unite the races and turn the nation on the path of robust growth. That such an agenda has met with emphatic approval by the masses was demonstrated by the decisive swing of support accorded to Pakatan in the March 8, 2008 elections.
Though Pakatan's subsequent rule in the states has not brought dramatic changes on a national scale over the past nine months, its imprint of corruption-free and pro-rakyat political leadership is unmistakably stamped on every Pakatan-controlled state.
The impact of Pakatan's rules on the national scene is necessarily limited and gradual, due respectively to the limited jurisdiction and resources of state governments as explained earlier and to a bureaucracy fossilized by decades of corrupt rule. However, as sure as the sun rises, the wind of change brought by Pakatan will stay and intensify and it will soon sweep through Sabah and Sarawak to bring the federal government under Pakatan rule.
Should Hindraf continue its struggles?
Under the circumstances, the best bet for marginalised Indians, and in fact for all Malaysians, is to work for the speedy realisation of a Pakatan federal government, which will bring healing and genuine nation-building to the country.
To answer the earlier question whether the Hindraf movement should continue its struggles, the answer is, of course, yes. Hindraf has made valuable contribution towards Pakatan's success in the March 8 elections by wakening and bringing unity of purpose to the Indian community, there is no reason why they should not persevere until this country is free from the yoke of BN's oppressive and corrupt rule.
In fact, many Malaysians had been moved by the courage and sacrifice displayed by Hindraf, when thousands of supporters braved tear gas and water cannons to march from Batu Caves to Kuala Lumpur city center on that memorable day of Nov 25, 2007 to express solidarity for a common cause.
We hope the same indomitable spirit will continue to shine on the Malaysian political scene to contribute towards the evolvement of a non-communal and meritocratic society, where every citizen will be given equal opportunity to develop his potentials to the fullest.
At the outset, I would like to say that even though I offer different opinions than our erstwhile Mr. Kim Quek, I am myself a strong proponent of regime change in our country. There are significant assumptions in Mr.Kim Quek's arguments that need to be dealt with. The conclusions may be the same, but the assumptions are vastly different.
In Kim Quek's words - Let us start our deliberation by first asking this question: Has there been a government policy to deliberately marginalize the Indian community? Kim Quek says no.
Take this case – a young girl has no birth certificate for no fault of hers and gets all As in her UPSR, something she was able to attain because of some sympathetic Headmaster in one of the Tamil primary schools. She is refused admission to secondary school. Denying any human being a right to basic education is the denial of a very fundamental right in any century, in any country, let alone in the 21st century and in this up and coming Malaysia.
Mr. Kim Quek, I ask you, is this act of denying this little girl her fundamental right acceptable even in the least, because it is not deliberate policy.
Even then, if this were an isolated case, I could agree with you, that we can overlook it because it was one of those inadvertent occurrences. But if this multiplies time and time again in many similar situations where the Government bureaucracy systematically looks for opportunities to deny the poor Indians a chance to a citizen's basic human right, is that still to be considered not deliberate policy.
The bureaucracy is an extension of UMNO, brought into existence in its present form so that the state policy of apartheid like discrimination can be systematically applied. This is well known. Is that not deliberate policy but just the working of an incompetent and corrupt bureaucracy. Politicians will have us believe that, it is so convenient an argument. Why, Mr.Kim Quek are you using the same argument?
Mr. Kim Quek, you are going to come running back and say, "Oh no, that is not what I meant. What I meant was that there was no deliberate policy on the part of the government to marginalize just the Indians" Well, Mr. Kim Quek, I say to you, when the hill slopes of Bukit Antarabangsa slid down the other day, that was not because of a deliberate policy. But does it matter…the people have lost their homes. Afterwards it is academic whether it was deliberate policy or otherwise, the problem happened because the system worked to make that problem happen - the system that was deliberately created.
Likewise when there is such a large problem simmering with the marginalization of the Indians and for so long and continues in spite of such loud feedbacks, can you still say it is not deliberate. When the powers that be continue to turn a deaf ear to the problem and provide lip service at best after all that has happened. Mr.Kim Quek, is that still not deliberate. I can only conclude from all of this that it is not that you have not understood it in this manner, you just prefer to see it the way you do. Mr.Kim Quek, this is where your underlying assumptions are exposed.
The Indians in this country have to be spoken to and not spoken with, is an implicit assumption that you make – maybe it is so commonplace for the likes of you, that you may not even recognize that you are doing it. You do not really have the facts of the working class Indians daily life, nor do you care, as I understand from your treatment of the issue. For you, the Indian is needed only for his vote, and loss of it will mean rocking of the boat that is headed for change and which is going to benefit the likes of you, not the marginalized Indians themselves whom you seem to be speaking up for. So, you say the same things that have been told to the Indians for the last fifty years – be patient.
I say rubbish to all of that; time is not the issue here. Come 5 years from now, I do not see a substantial change happening, given the present drift. The issue here is the lack of will. Plain and simple – lack of will to do the things that are necessary to change the state of affairs.
There are so many things that a State government can do on a priority basis for the most marginalized. We cannot change the bureaucrats, but we can start setting up watchdog citizens committees to watch over the shoulders of the bureaucrats. We can start becoming more transparent on more issues, especially where it relates to the poor and the marginalized. State land can be more productively used by distributing it to the poor. Special scholarship schemes can be setup to pull in all the underemployed or currently unemployable youths in the 18 -25 category and places allocated to them in skills training institution, or special institutions be set up for this purpose, single mothersto be identified and treated on priority basis – but nothing like this is happening. Only excuses are being given for maintaining status quo. Nor do I see meaningful discussion going on in this respect. But then, it is always the numbers game after the elections. Marginalized Indians are too small a group to give priority to. What will the others say?
Mr. Kim Quek, I do not understand how suddenly you become an apologist for the perpetrators of this regime on this issue. If you are the parent of that little Indian lass maybe you will understand. But you are not and never can be. The least you can do is not masquerade.
You insult our intelligence when you say stupid things like" What is the solution to the Indian predicament then? Would it help by giving a few more government posts or contracts to Indians by a state government? While that will make a few Indians happy, it would not alleviate the prevailing poverty of Indians, who number almost two million."
You think this is rocket science that you are revealing here. You are not able to differentiate the symbols of the problem from the real problem. So, what is being done for the two million marginalized Indians now – you tell me Mr.Kim Quek. Every time this is the same stupid argument that is brought up. But nothing seems to be happening for the very poor people referred to in that argument. It is all just too convenient.
Then Mr.Kim Quek, you say" Under the circumstances, the best bet for marginalized Indians, and in fact for all Malaysians, is to work for the speedy realization of a Pakatan federal government, which will bring healing and genuine nation-building to the country." I tell you, Mr.Kim Quek you make a faulty assumption here – the Federal Government of the Pakatan will only be speedily and robustly realized when the poor and marginalized are truly taken care of now. Their vote is not to be given at the hint of the afterworld. It will be given for the here and now.
So, Mr. Kim Quek, please review your assumptions because we are all not going to get very far with your current assumptions – progressive as it may seem. We want, not just a change to the names of the parties that are in power. We want true change. Not promises of change – but change that we all can feel and appreciate.
Viva la Makkal.
United we stand
United we act.
Open letter to Indian leaders in Pakatan
Kim Quek | Jan 2, 09 11:30am Malaysiakini
In the light of recent grouses among certain Indian leaders against the Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government for neglecting Indian interests, I am writing this open letter to share my thoughts.
Let us start with the Hindraf movement. The reason why this movement has won so much sympathy among all races is because it has expounded a truth – that Indians have been marginalised.
So we shall establish the first principle in this discourse – Indian Malaysians have been marginalised.
That, however, is the easy part. The real challenge is: how do we save the Indians from marginalisation?
Do we strengthen MIC so that it has a bigger say in Barisan Nasional? I don't think many like this idea, simply because it has not worked for 50 years.
Do we start a new Indian party just like S Nallakaruppan did when he broke off from PKR just before the Ijok by-election in April 2007? I think we can all agree that Nalla and his party have got no where, so better forget about this idea. It is common sense anyway that the proliferation of Indian parties can only weaken the Indian position.
Or do we continue the Hindraf struggle? That, of course, is a serious question, for which careful thoughts must be given.
Indians most neglected by gov't
Let us start our deliberation by first asking this question: Has there been a government policy to deliberately marginalise the Indian community?
In all honesty, I do not think so, despite my years of fierce criticism of the Umno-led BN government. For that matter, I do not think the government has targeted any racial group for marginalisation – be they Chinese, Indians or the natives of Sabah and Sarawak.
Marginalisation of large sections of Malaysians is a result of bad policies implemented by a corrupt leadership. The New Economic Policy, which symbolises Umno's racial agenda, actually started off on sound affirmative action principles to eradicate poverty and redress social and economic imbalance, but soon degenerated into a racist tool by Umno to amass wealth for its leaders and cronies through political hegemony.
Though the policy has largely uplifted the educational and economic status of Malays, Umno's corrupt and dictatorial rule on the back of its racist ideology has wrought devastating consequences – an authoritarian state torn by racial dissension where vast populations are impoverished through corruption, squandering and sheer incompetence.
As a result, all races have fallen victims to such misrule. Admittedly, Indians are among the most neglected, though ironically Malays constitute the biggest racial group in the impoverished category, while the natives of Sabah and Sarawak are stuck in a warped time zone of yesteryears with scant infrastructures and educational facilities to develop their economic potentials.
With this, we shall agree on the second principle of this discourse: Indians have not been singled out for marginalisation, but rather, they are part of the wider Malaysian society (save the Umnoputras) which has fallen victim to a corrupt elitist rule.
What is the solution to the Indian predicament then? Would it help by giving a few more government posts or contracts to Indians by a state government? While that will make a few Indians happy, it would not alleviate the prevailing poverty of Indians, who number almost two million.
Besides, the role that a state government can play in altering the political course of the nation is limited, as its authority covers only land matters and local councils, and its financial resources negligible compared to that of the federal government (the revenue of the richest state government of Selangor amounts to hardly 1% of the federal government revenue).
Problem cannot be solved in isolation Malaysia's problem is acute economic and political mismanagement, one consequence of which (among many) is manifested in the marginalisation of Indians. So the Indian problem cannot be solved in isolation, without changing national policies, which in turn can only take place by changing the national leadership.
The present national leadership is too entrenched with its addiction to easy wealth through racist protectionism and corrupt institutions to effect any meaningful change to the status quo. And without the necessary reforms to restore confidence and improve competitiveness and productivity, there is no way we can extricate ourselves from the current economic malaise.
This means all Malaysians – including Indians of course – will continue to suffer the economic hardships, more so in this turbulent time of unprecedented world financial and economic crisis.
With the nation plunging into deeper debts under current adverse economic conditions, and the incumbent power is even more determined to pursue its racist policy in order to strengthen its traditional electoral support base, what hope is there for Indians to improve their livelihood while Umno/BN continues to remain in power?
In contrast, Pakatan Rakyat's agenda to reinstate democracy and good governance and restore egalitarianism under the constitution whereby all citizens are guaranteed equal rights offers the best recipe to re-unite the races and turn the nation on the path of robust growth. That such an agenda has met with emphatic approval by the masses was demonstrated by the decisive swing of support accorded to Pakatan in the March 8, 2008 elections.
Though Pakatan's subsequent rule in the states has not brought dramatic changes on a national scale over the past nine months, its imprint of corruption-free and pro-rakyat political leadership is unmistakably stamped on every Pakatan-controlled state.
The impact of Pakatan's rules on the national scene is necessarily limited and gradual, due respectively to the limited jurisdiction and resources of state governments as explained earlier and to a bureaucracy fossilized by decades of corrupt rule. However, as sure as the sun rises, the wind of change brought by Pakatan will stay and intensify and it will soon sweep through Sabah and Sarawak to bring the federal government under Pakatan rule.
Should Hindraf continue its struggles?
Under the circumstances, the best bet for marginalised Indians, and in fact for all Malaysians, is to work for the speedy realisation of a Pakatan federal government, which will bring healing and genuine nation-building to the country.
To answer the earlier question whether the Hindraf movement should continue its struggles, the answer is, of course, yes. Hindraf has made valuable contribution towards Pakatan's success in the March 8 elections by wakening and bringing unity of purpose to the Indian community, there is no reason why they should not persevere until this country is free from the yoke of BN's oppressive and corrupt rule.
In fact, many Malaysians had been moved by the courage and sacrifice displayed by Hindraf, when thousands of supporters braved tear gas and water cannons to march from Batu Caves to Kuala Lumpur city center on that memorable day of Nov 25, 2007 to express solidarity for a common cause.
We hope the same indomitable spirit will continue to shine on the Malaysian political scene to contribute towards the evolvement of a non-communal and meritocratic society, where every citizen will be given equal opportunity to develop his potentials to the fullest.
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