MIC - The Indian Voice

I scroll through the MIC website the other day and was drawn to a question posted, "What we can do to enhance the economic position of Indians in Malaysia?" Well, everybody has an opinion and I want to have mine heard too and I posted my opinion on the MIC website and in my website. Let’s Look at it this way; in order to help someone financially we must have the fund, in order to teach someone we must be educated. That is the principle; therefore if MIC wants to enhance the economic position of the Indians, MIC has to be big, powerful, rich and relevant. We are so depended on the federal government for everything because we don't generate any revenue. MIC is the sole representative of Malaysian Indian's and no other party or individual person can claim otherwise.
Our main focus over these years is to solve problems, Building schools, Building temples, Low cost houses, giving money to the poor, getting birth certificates, give medical help, help students for higher educations, etc etc etc. We are drained physically and mentally on solving problems and not having the time and space to focus on the growth of our Indian economy. I'm not against all the good deeds that had been done, we need schools, temples and looking after the underprivileged but that is all we do, “solving problems”. The attack and abuse comes from every corner, they question what has MIC done all these years but the same person who raise the question had benefited previously and wants more and more. MIC is not in existence to serve a handful of people, it is to serve the entire Indian community even though that person is with an opposition party. We are the only Indian party in the BN coalition and since the country is governed by BN we immediately take the responsibility as the representative of the Indian community in this country. We are in existence for 63 years and no one can dispute our credibility in being the voice of Indians in Malaysia. Of course over the years there were a few incidences which had contributed to the lost of people’s money, bad investments, power struggle and internal bickering but the party still doing its job to serve the Indian community, securing whatever they can get from the government and helping the Indian’s The records shows that we have been given very little previously until Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak took over the helm as PM. Within the period of 6 month he has allocated over 100 million ringgit and gave the Indians the opportunity to own government shares valued over 2 billion. Our PM is very firm with his vision of 1malaysia and to realize his dream he has to give us what we deserved, what is rightful ours and that is what he is doing.

Malaysia is considered economically stable because of the existence of oil and the swift management of PETRONAS, we make billions of dollars every year, our government budget depends on how much PETRONAS earns that year end and it is the biggest contributor to the growth of our country. The oil beneath our feet belongs to all Malaysian and I wonder why we never capitalize on that, maybe there’s some restrictions or agreement which I am not aware off but our new PM is very keen and generous towards non bumiputra’s and it’s worth a try. The petroleum industry is very big and there are many safe contracts that are available, when I say safe contract’s, it means the risk is minimal or none and being a component party of BN, we should try to secure a few contracts. We have participated is some businesses before but it wasn’t successful because the projects undertaken were high risk and we have learned the hard way. If we get some kind of contract with PETRONAS, I am very sure we will not fail because PETRONAS is well managed and their experience and guidance will enhance our businesses and investments.

If we have an income, we can use it to strengthen our party; there are many areas that needed immediate attention such as empowering the branch and division chairman. The pillar of our party is the branches because they are the one who is directly in-touch with the people. If MIC is weak now, it is due to the ineffiency of the branch and division leaders who failed in their capacity to address issues or highlighting all the events that is taking place in their area to the HQ. I think MIC need to set up a “complain bureau” in every state to monitor the movements on the ground and to evaluate the performance of the branch and division chairman. All branch chairman need to send a report/feedback to the complain bureau on weekly or monthly basis. This will give us valuable information about the living condition of our people and especially the movement of the oppositions in that particular place. We can take immediate action to counter the negative impact towards our party and bring trust and hope to the people. The key point is “we stay connected”

MIC is the sole voice for the Indians in Malaysia and getting them back is not an impossible task but a tedious process. We need to create syllabus/guidelines for all the branch and division chairman so that they abide by the laws that govern our party. If we have a handbook for branch chairman, which has all the do’s and don’ts, party constitutions, party procedures and self conduct, I believe we can successfully re-engineered our party to a greater height. The branch chairman is equipped with knowledge and would be able to perform his duty with ease. If the branch start’s performing, MIC will once again re-emerge as the voice of all Indians and eventually everyone wants to be associated with it. The best method is not to pull them but to lure them into MIC. I am counting on the new team that has successfully and legally won the election to set a new benchmark for the future of our generation.