A self-defeating prejudice

“Ask not what your country can do for you.

Ask what you can do for your country.”

– John Fitzgerald KennedyA FORTNIGHT ago, I had written about the Indian dilemma – and I had moved on. This week was supposed to be about something else. But events this past week have brought my words back to haunt me. I had written then that the dwindling number of Indians “could lead to questions over the community’s representation in government”.

“Would there then be a need to even give ministerial or deputy ministerial posts to Indians?” I wrote.

Looking back, that was almost prophetic.

On Tuesday, there was a Cabinet reshuffle and, apparently, there is no “Indian” minister now. What I had feared for the future is already upon us, according to some.

There is a hue and cry. Strangely enough, most of those crying foul are those who had left, or had been ousted from, the current government.

But is there really no Indian in the Cabinet?

The new Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo is a Punjabi. And three deputy ministers are Tamils. They are all Indians.

Punjabis are Indians, as far as I am concerned, just like the Telugus, Malayalees, Gujeratis, Sindhis and, of course, the Tamils.

That, in fact, is the bigger Indian dilemma – that these people cannot be united as one Malaysian Indian community, and see each other instead as members of different states in India.

I refuse to see a Punjabi as a non-Indian. That sort of thing is only done by Khalistanis backed by migrants to Canada.

In Malaysia, a Punjabi or a Malayalee can fight for the right of all Indians, including the Tamils. Even an ethnic Chinese like Steven Sim can do so. The number of Tamils is not that important.

There was a time when there were four Indians in the Cabinet, three of them Tamil-speaking ones. Were things any different?

Of course, there are always two sides to the argument. In the Malaysian context, many Chinese would not accept non-Mandarin speaking Chinese, or “bananas”, as their leaders. Neither would Malays accept non-Malays as their representatives.

Remember when non-Chinese educated officers were appointed as headmasters of Chinese schools in 1987? There was almost a riot.

Or when a Chinese became finance minister and an Indian, albeit a non-Tamil speaking Malayalee, became attorney-general?

The outcry from the Malay community was deafening.

The government itself fell soon after and both had to relinquish their positions. It is not likely that either position will, in the foreseeable future, be filled by a non-Malay.

The same can be said of Borneo folk. They want their own to speak for them. It’s all about representation.

Now, we even have some who want to limit the prime ministership to Malays only, even ignoring the fact that Sabah and Sarawak are also part of the country.

That, sadly, is the Malaysian dilemma.

This racial and geographical bias is something we all seem to carry since the days of the New Economic Policy, and especially after the 80s. There is little anyone can do about it.

What the Indian community really needs now is the confidence to carry itself on its own two feet. Now is not the time to worry about which denomination the Indian minister is from.

It is up to the community to uplift itself. The crutch mentality, often used to criticise the Malay majority, must be put aside.

There are many millionaires among the Indians. In fact, one of the richest men in the country is an Indian. What can they do for the community?

One of the deputy ministers holds the country’s purse strings for the Indians. As chairman of the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit, there is much Datuk R. Ramanan can do.

And there is a lot the common folk can do if they make the effort.

Only recently, former Penang deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy was found guilty of defamation and was ordered to pay RM1.52mil. He sought help and the common man rallied to his cause. In just a week, more than RM1.5mil was raised.

Not all who donated were Tamils. Many non-Tamils also gave generously. If they could do it for one man, imagine what they could do for the community – if they set their minds to it.

The Tamil schools, meanwhile, have won a battle in the courts. Now they have to win the minds and souls of the community and produce quality students who will take the country and the community to greater heights.

Chinese schools are already the schools of choice, even for many Malays. In one such school, there are more Malays than Chinese. Tamil schools need to strive for such excellence too.

These schools should aim high. They should strive to produce Malaysian Indians – Tamils too – who can rise above the rest and lift their economy. There are role models in the many Indian CEOs who run conglomerates in the United States.

The ministers, whatever their background, exist to serve all Malaysians.

MPs are there to serve all constituents. It will be stupidity to expect them to only help those of their own ilk.

This “only my race, my community” attitude is self-defeating. Take for good example, the late Datuk K. Pathmanaban.

He had a Master of Arts in Public Administration in Economic Development from Harvard University and was among the first batches of Bachelor of Arts graduates, majoring in Economics, from the University of Malaya in Singapore in 1959.

He was the founder of the Manipal Medical College, which aimed to produce many doctors of Indian ethnicity. His problem? He was a Malayalee.

Some influential Tamils in MIC were just jealous and would not allow him to rise. It was a waste of great talent.

This is a mistake the Indian community should never repeat. Malayalee, Punjabi or Tamil, the minister should be given the benefit of the doubt.

The community, too, cannot always expect to be spoon-fed.

To paraphrase JFK, it is time for the Indians, especially the Tamils, to ask what they can do for the good of the community. And not just ask what handouts – or positions – the government will give them.