Memorandum of Understanding between Barisan Nasional and Hindraf – Part 2

 

A large percentage of the Indian poor cannot vote for themselves, as they are stateless. For a majority of those that can vote, bread and butter issues are what matter, and not whether car prices will come down after the election. 

Hindraf Economic Unit

The purpose of this series of articles is to set a standard of reference for what needs to be done to uplift the Indian poor in Malaysia.

A large percentage of the Indian poor cannot vote for themselves, as they are stateless. For a majority of those that can vote, bread and butter issues are what matter, and not whether car prices will come down after the election. Hindraf represents their voice, and is morally and ethically obligated to do what is best for the marginalised Indian poor.

A message is now being sent out to the Indian poor in this country. In that message, probably for the first time ever in his life, the marginalised Indian Malaysian will see a clear statement of intent with regards to improving his condition by one of the two coalitions which are vying for his vote and support.

For a start he will be shown the following:

BN and HINDRAF, in:

• Recognizing that there has occurred a transition of the vast majority of Malaysian Indians from plantation estates to towns and cities over a period lasting approximately 4 decades, and,
• Recognizing that this was not directly and adequately addressed by Government policy and implementation, and,
• Now desiring to correct the chronic socio-economic problems that have resulted in a comprehensive and permanent manner, etc…

Is that the best “apology” in the world? Not by a long shot. But, it is the only apology he would have received so far that also brings the promise of hope into his life and that of his children. We can say with certainty that none of the developers who displaced the Indian estate worker, or the people who purchased the properties built on the land the estate worker was displaced from, would have gone out of their way to apologise to him.

There would have been no greater betrayal that the displaced Indian poor could have suffered than if Hindraf had turned down BN on his behalf.

For the pro Pakatan Malaysian voter who cannot stand the thought that Hindraf has thrown the full weight of its support behind BN, fret not, there is a way to counter that move, if not in the coming polls, then in the one after.

The MOU spells out the following key points with regards to uplifting displaced estate workers.

For the purpose of the Blueprint, ‘Displaced Estate Workers’ shall be considered as synonymous with ‘Low-Income Indian Households’ and shall be defined for the purposes of policy formulation and execution as all Malaysian Indian households, earning less than RM3,000 in 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the “Target Group”).

The MOU states that the overall objective of the program will be to double the mean monthly family incomes of all Malaysian Indian families earning less than RM 3000, base lined in 2013, by the end of 2020.

There will also be programs to retrain and reskill displaced estate worker youth.

The program will provide easy and attractive placements with appropriate financial support for the displaced youth (Target group) into 176 GIATMARA centres and 78 community colleges across the nation.

After retraining, placement services will be provided for jobs and internships in Government and GLC’s.

For the youth who wish to start a small business after retraining, TEKUN or a program similar to TEKUN will be set up to provide support.

If you are a pro Pakatan voter, and you no longer want to hear the name Hindraf even in your dreams, all you will have to do is make Hindraf irrelevant, it is as easy as that.

This can be achieved if you are prepared to ensure that Pakatan Rakyat will at the very least match the programs and work towards the objectives which are being listed in this series of articles.

If you are prepared to put the effort to formulate concrete steps to uplift the Indian poor, address the issue of statelessness and solve it once and for all, increase educational opportunities from pre-school to University as well as increase employment and business opportunities for the target group, so much so that the marginalised Indian Malaysian becomes only a memory, and becomes fully integrated into the mainstream development of Malaysia, then Hindraf will also become a memory.

When you can get Pakatan to bring down car prices, fuel costs as well as abolish toll charges, uplifting the Indian poor should be a piece of cake, shouldn’t it?

While we in Hindraf would love to wait with bated breath while Pakatan Rakyat and its supporters get around to uplifting the lot of the Indian poor, there is a small problem that’s in the way of us doing just that.

Hindraf knows first-hand that the needs of the marginalised Indian poor are not an abstract matter. It is a real need, and it exists in real time, for a part of the population who are as real you are, dear reader. What is unreal is the pain and suffering that they have to endure as their daily lot.

That knowledge makes it impossible for Hindraf to wait for anyone to get their act together, so forgive us while we forge ahead while you explain to the Indian poor why abolishing toll charges is going to turn his life around.

 

Hindraf Economic Unit