Indian NGOs have expressed doubts on whether Putrajaya has the political will to implement the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (MIB) after the next general election, since similar proposals in the past were never realised.
The MIB was launched by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak on Sunday. The plan proposes the spending of hundreds of millions of ringgit to improve the welfare of the Indian community over the next 10 years.
Najib said the blueprint was drafted by MIC after consulting various leaders, NGOs and academicians. Among others, Najib pledged RM40 million for higher education assistance, a RM500 million fund for entrepreneurs and RM500 million under Permodalan Nasional Bhd targeting the bottom 40 percent income group (B40) from the Indian community.
For National Indian Rights Action Team (Niat) chairperson Thasleem Mohd Ibrahim, the MIB and Najib's promise to the Indian community are a case of déjà vu.
Thasleem (photo) said that in 1974, there was the 'New Economy Policy and Malaysian
Then in 2013 there was the 'Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia-BN Blueprint for the Indian Community', which also came to naught, he said.
BN's track record
"Proposals for the uplift of the Indian community were brought up on numerous occasions between 1974 and 2016. None were implemented in a manner suitable to satisfy the needs of the community.
"The special residential school for Tamil school students after UPSR had cabinet approval in 2013. No sign of the school till now," he said.
"On one hand, I am happy (that there's a blueprint), but on the other, I have doubts. It's an election tactic," Thasleem told Malaysiakini.
While admitting that the government has done a fair bit for the Indian community, much of it has been piecemeal and not holistic.
"The Indian community is still marginalised and discriminated against. Indians are now an awakened community.
"The Indian community has been taken for a ride several times. Are they going to be taken for a ride again?" asked Thasleem.
Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (Mipas) sercretary-general S Barathidasan concurred that the MIB was BN's pre-election carrot.
It's a 'blur-print'
Barathidasan (photo) said that although he has not read the latest blueprint, news reports on its content sounded very similar to Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia's document.
"Why not implement the earlier blueprint then?" he asked.
"The prime minister won't even reveal the total amount needed in the 10-year plan," he said, while describing the MIB as a "blur-print".
Meanwhile, Persatuan Rapat Malaysia (Rapat) president A Rajaretinam said Indian NGOs will trust the government this time only if the blueprint is tabled and approved in Parliament.
This method would turn the blueprint into government policy.
Rajaretinam (photo) also proposed the establishment of a Minority Affairs Ministry with an annual budget to implement the policies.
"We need such a blueprint. A large number of Indians are urban poor who contribute to social problems, while gangsterism is a problem among the Indian youths," he said.
However, Rajaretinam said, the government's inability to achieve the 30 percent bumiputera equity target, even after 40 years, casts doubts on whether the MIB's 10-year target can be achieved.
Give it a chance
Meanwhile, Maha Hindu Vision 2020 spokeperson Arun Dorasamy, who was on the panel which drafted the MIC blueprint, said critics should give MIB a chance.
"This is much awaited effort from the government. Even though there is room for improvement, it is definitely a great start.
"This blueprint is a positive step forward. I would recommend that all the sceptics read the document first, and give a chance to the blueprint to take its course," Arun said.
He predicted that the biggest challenge for MIB would be the delivery system, which needed to be created under the Prime Minister's Department to implement the proposed policies.
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