MIC rep wants Interlok dropped, denies consensus
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 22 — An MIC representative denied today there was consensus that the Interlok novel did not disparage the Indian community, and insisted that it should be dropped from the education syllabus,
Former Hindu Sangam Malaysia president Dr A. Nagappan refuted Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that a discussion last Tuesday had reached a consensus that the controversial novel did not intend to disparage the Indian community.
“We had agreed that this novel should be withdrawn. There was no other suggestion other than to ask that it not be used in school,” Nagappan told The Malaysian Insider.
“So, Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s statement (that the novel should be used) is not true,” added the former lecturer who represented MIC at the talks.
The Indian-based MIC is part of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) federal coalition.
Nagappan stressed that all six MIC representatives had agreed that the novel should not be used as the Form Five literature text as it was not conducive in fostering the 1 Malaysia spirit and racial unity.
Yesterday, Muhyiddin (picture) suggested several solutions to the Interlok controversy, such as creating additional footnotes, glossaries and teaching guidelines.
Muhyiddin, who is also the Education Minister, said more discussions with MIC leaders would be held before deciding if the novel would be removed from the school syllabus.
He added that he had informed the Cabinet on Wednesday about the results of the discussion, which he said was conducted in a professional and friendly manner.
The education minister further claimed that Interlok encouraged racial unity and was in line with the 1 Malaysia concept.
“There were only concerns from MIC and some quarters in the Indian community towards certain words. This writer (national laureate Datuk Abdullah Hussain), when read in its entirety, has no intention of humiliating or disparaging any race in that novel,” Muhyiddin had said.
Abdullah’s novel, which was written 50 years ago, has come under fire from the MIC and several Indian groups who claim that its contents on the Indian caste system are offensive.
Besides Nagappan, the other five MIC representatives who attended the Tuesday meeting were Hindu Sangam Malaysia president R. S. Mohan Shah, Universiti Malaya Indian Studies Department head Professor Madya Dr S. Kumaran, MIC Education Bureau chairman Tan Sri Dr T. Marimuthu, former Education Ministry official G. Krishnabagwan and Tamil Bell Club president S. V. Lingam.
Nagappan also said the MIC representatives had met a few NGOs yesterday and agreed to urge the MIC central working committee (CWC) to take a stand that is in line with the conclusion at the Tuesday discussion.
“As long as the MIC CWC does not make a stand, we will not attend further meetings with the Education Ministry,” said Nagappan.
“It is pointless for us to talk to the Education Ministry if MIC does not accept our stand,” he added.
The discussion this week was chaired by Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi and attended by 22 representatives, including NGOs and academicians.
The meeting lasted for four hours and Education Ministry officials had explained the rationale in choosing Interlok as the Form Five Bahasa Malaysia literature text.
Last week, MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel said the controversy surrounding the word “pariah” in the novel should be ended.
He had said it was a sensitive matter to Indians in the country although it was not a political issue.
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