Unity govt will address issues faced by Indian community, says Anwar

PETALING JAYA: Issues faced by the Indian community will be addressed by the unity government, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Speaking after a meeting with MIC leaders on Wednesday (Aug 2), Anwar said the unity government will continue to develop policies that will help address issues not just of the Indian community, but of all Malaysians.

“We know that the majority of those in poverty are Malays but we need to confront the reality that the poorest of the poor happen to be ethnic Indians," said Anwar.

“As such, we don't need a Malay or Indian policy for poverty eradication, we need a Malaysian policy that caters towards addressing poverty for every single Malaysian regardless of race," he added.

Anwar then added that the same can be said for education and schools, saying that this is why an additional allocation of RM1.4bil has been allocated for the repair of dilapidated schools across the country, including vernacular schools.

He also acknowledged the lack of representation of Indians in the country, and said that he would further discuss with his colleagues, including Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, on addressing this issue.

Anwar added that unity among races is key in tackling issues relating to race, religion and royalty (3R).

“I cannot understand why our own friends on the other side who use sensitive issues like the ‘Allah’ issue or saying the election is about Malay survival and claiming that non-Malays are taking over the country.

“This is not politics, this is a dangerous game as it isn’t some partisan political issue about the state elections but on the survival of our nation.

“We have seen many nations collapse from civil strife and wars that arise from this kind of talk. We need to put an end to iit as soon as possible to prevent such things from happening here by uniting as Malaysians,” he said.

Also attending the event were MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran, MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan, and Dr Ahmad Zahid.