Kenneth Eswaran – We Challenge you to Change the Paradigm

By Naragan 

This is a response to Kenneth Eswaran’s interview on the 23rd of January 2009, to Malaysiakini on MkiniTV. 

We are only asking for what we should be rightfully getting. In your interview, you asked one of the reporters – how large a community the Indians are in Malaysia – 8 percent was the answer. Then what did you say in response – we are only a small community – if the others get a dollar, we cannot also ask for a dollar. Kenneth, you really take the Indians to be so stupid as not to be able to see the nonsense in your argument. Do the Indians get 8% of the national income, do they own 8% of the wealth of the country, do they have 8% employment in all fields, do they have 8% public university and skills training institutes enrolments in all courses offered, do they get 8% of all the contracts awarded by the government – where do they get what they should get. We don’t want a dollar for dollar, we want 8% of every dollar. Is that what you call a dollar for a dollar?

When a businessman comes out in the open and makes public statements on an issue of public interest in a rather controversial manner, there is a lot at stake for him. Given this, why is Kenneth Eswaran (who now goes by KK Eswaran) taking that risk, by projecting himself as a spokesman of sorts for the Indian community (though he vows that, that is not what he is trying to do)? If you look a little beyond his words, it is evident that he is taking a position that is totally against the interest of the vast majority of Indians in the country. A businessman is a businessman; he only cares for his own interests, but occasionally puts on a façade of speaking up for a community. He talks about Tamil schools, he talks about youth training, he talks about petty traders interests. But what he is effectively saying is no different than what has been said for the last 50 years – we must do it in the proper way, we must do it in an appropriate way, we must do it this way we must do it that way and so on – but not anything different that will yield a tangible difference. 

In the process of the interview, he lambasts Waythamoorthy – quote from Malaysiakini “We regret Waythamoorthy's inconsiderate action in circulating a pamphlet tarnishing the image of his own country at a conference with seditious remarks and unjustified statistics, plus a call to the Indian government to impose trade sanctions against Malaysia such as to stop importing palm oil from Malaysia,” said Eswaran. This probably is his main purpose of the Malaysiakini interview.

A little bit of research reveals exactly why he takes this “patriotic” approach. He heads a company called Multi Vest Resources Bhd (MVest) in which he owns just over 28% of the shares. MVest has 4000 hectares of oil palm plantation in Malaysia and 75,000 hectares more coming up in Kalimantan. He is also wrapped in this business with UMNOputras. If you look at the register of shareholders you won’t necessarily see the UMNOPutra shareholding; you will see significant nominee shareholding (this is a known device for concealing who the real shareholders are). His Board of Directors are made up of 3 Bumiputra Directors out of a total of 5 Directors listed on the website. So you can see, he seems to be in one of those crony-type of relationship. Waythamoorthy’s request to the Indian Diaspora and the Indian businesses and government to review their purchasing policy on palm oil is clearly detrimental to his personal interests, besides the interest of his UMNOPutras overlord – there you have it. The rest of it is a masquerade, to push his main point and to discredit Waythmoorthy who is hitting him and his overlords where it hurts most – their money. Not so easy, Kenneth. Not so easy.

Kenneth, you should be talking to the UMNOPutras to change their policies towards the minorities in the country so that the leaders of the minority and marginalized  community do not need to go outside to seek help, to bring about the political will to do something positive about the marginalization problem. You should be doing this if you truly really cared. You should not be lecturing us – we have had 50 years of that already.

You know what Kenneth, you sounded exactly like Samy Vellu in that interview and you know what is happening to Samy Vellu; his days are so clearly numbered.

In your interview Kenneth Eswaran, you go on to say that all these people who are claiming to be leaders of the Indian community are doing it only for their own petty interest. I will speak for myself – I have no interest in doing what I am doing other than to get the truth out. I think most of the people out there who are speaking out at great risks are doing it for much the same reason. Our interest is to show up the treacherous lies of the last 50 years and lay bare to the public the types of people that have cheated so many generations of Indians of a decent life and in that process to seek a better life for all.

We are only asking for what we should be rightfully getting. In your interview ,  you asked one of the reporters, how large a community the Indians are in Malaysia  – 8 percent was the answer. Then what did you say in response -, we are only a small community  – if the others get a dollar, we cannot also ask for a dollar. Kenneth, you really take the Indians to be so stupid as not to be able to see the nonsense in your argument . Do the Indians get 8% of the national income, do they own 8% of the wealth of the country, do they have 8% employment in all fields, do they have 8% public university and skills training institutes enrolments in all courses offered, do they get 8% of all the contracts awarded by the government – where do they get what they should get. We don’t want a dollar for  dollar, we want 8% of every dollar . Is that what you call a dollar for a dollar.

Kenneth Eswaran, the President of MAICCI, you are beginning to play the role of a Mandore now, just like Samy Vellu has been doing all these years. We do not need another Mandore. If you want to take care of your interests then get your overlords to effectively do something about the marginalized Indian people.

You say there is a meeting coming up soon to discuss matters of interests to the Indian community. If you really cared, invite Waythamoorthy and Uthayakumar (you have such a close relationship with the UMNOputras) for the meeting and start a meaningful dialog – not one for appearance sake only. If you really cared, we challenge you to do that.