The Hindraf Campaign: A Critique

It is undeniable that Indians in Malaysia face racial discrimination.

- difficulty in getting government jobs;

- lack of special programs for Indian students from poor backgrounds;
- the poor state of many Tamil Primary Schools;
- absence of laws to protect the estate community when they are evicted in the name of development; Ditto for the peneroka bandar;

- insensitive handling of Hindu Temples which are demolished to make way for “development”

- extremely insensitive handling of cases of Indian individuals caught in “inter-faith situations for example Moorthy, Subashini, and others;

- the negative profiling of Indian youth by the police and other authorities as “gangsters” and the harsh treatment of these youth when caught by police;

These are just some aspects of the reality of Indians in Malaysia. Indians are made to feel that they are second-class citizens, and after 50 years of Merdeka they are beginning to resent it more and more!

Ethnic based mobilization is relatively easy to do.

Malaysian society has been tutored in racial politics by the BN parties (as well as by some opposition parties also) for the past 5 decades.

The vast majority of Malaysians think in ethnic terms.

However ethnic based mobilization of Indians will not be able to overcome the racial discrimination that Indians face.

At this point Hindraf is asking for

- Institution of affirmative policies for Malaysian Indians

- Monetary compensation from the British Government for “leaving us in this mess”

These are emotive issues, and it is obvious that many Malaysian Indians have responded to them.

But is even remotely possible that they can be attained by ethnic based mobilization of the Indians who make up only 7% of the population?

We should not forget that apart from racial discrimination, the majority of Indians face economic discrimination because they are workers in a system that favours the businessmen and the capitalists.

About 70% of Malaysian Indians are workers.

The problem they face as workers include

- low wages. In many factories the basic pay in RM 18 per day, which works out to RM 468 per month.

- There is no job security. Outsourcing, the widespread use of contract workers, and the easy availability of migrant workers all weaken the bargaining position of Malaysian labour.

- Labour laws are being tightened and being made more pro management;

- Low cost adequate housing is difficult to find.

- Prices of goods is rising faster than wages! Petrol, toll and now flour.

- Basic services – health care, education, roads, water - which used to be heavily subsidized are now becoming increasingly expensive;