R.AGE Newsflash: An “Indian problem”, or a Malaysian one?

PETALING JAYA: The issues plaguing the Indian B40 community (IB40) today are due to a lack of political will in helping them when they were displaced from the rubber and oil palm estates, said MySkills Foundation director S. Pasupathi.

“Thousands of Indians lost their jobs and homes when estates were converted into industrial and housing areas,” he said. “But there was no attempt to help them integrate into society, no attempt to help them get jobs. So they lived in poverty, and turned to gangsterism in order to make ends meet.”

Today, the IB40 community suffers from high dropout rates, higher crime rates, and low employment rates compared to the national average.

But with Budget 2019 allocating RM100mil to help develop the community, things are looking up. Now, it’s all up to proper implementation, said Pasupathi.

Newsflash is a R.AGE explainer series that dissects and discusses current issues. Watch the full series here.