It must have been a great scene – 15,000 Indians from all over the country packing the Cheras badminton stadium in Kuala Lumpur and greeting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi with a thunderous standing ovation and bursting into applause at his declaration that Thaipusam a public holiday for the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.
It must have been indeed a great morale booster for the prime minister and more so for MIC president,Datuk Seri Samy Velu,whose credibility has been seriously undermined since the Hindaf rally last November.
Prime Minister aknowledging to applause(Malaysiakini)We are told that busloads of people were ferried to the stadium, entertained by singers and provided food and drinks. I wonder how many of them would have really turned out for ‘An evening with the prime minister’ if they were subjected to the same conditions as the Hindraf protesters on Nevember 25 – no police permits, own transport, police intimidation, tear gas, water canons, arrests and imprisonment?
Large crowd in Cheras Badminton Stadium(Malaysiakini)By granting a public holiday the government and Samy Velu hope the problems of the Indian community will be overcome, at least for another five years.
Is the Indian community so naïve as to believe this simplistic solution to their problems? If that was so then the Hindraf leaders must be stupid for having resorted to their actions, branded as terrorists and jailed under ISA.
The problems of the Indians are more complex and deep rooted to be solved by declaring Thaipusam a holiday.
Their pathetic state of the Indians is due to the accumulated effects of their marginalization in the government and private sectors for over 50 years. They have been systematically denied their dues in the pretext of restructuring society.
In fact the PM says he had to make it a holiday more because of the massive traffic that occurs on Thaipusam day in the Federal capital, rather than giving in to the demands of the Indian community.Furthemore he dare not even declare it a national holiday as requested by the MIC and the Indians community for more than 10 years.
Most Malaysians believe it is more of a political gimmick coming at a time of general elections.
What the Indian community needs now is not another public holiday; many young Indians have more than they need, as they are unemployed. What they need is fair opportunities for education, training, jobs and business. They need fair opportunities in the civil service, police and armed forces.
Selection for recruitment into these institutions and admissions to public universities must be based strictly on merits. They want freedom to practice their culture and religion without official impediment.
In short they want to be treated with respect and dignity as equal citizens in the country they helped to develop.Is this too much to ask from the government they helped to elect and stood by for 50 years?
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