MIC proposes senatorship for Sabah chairman
KOTA KINABALU: MIC Vice President Datuk T Mohan agrees with the party’s Kota Kinabalu division delegates at their annual general meeting (AGM) here yesterday that MIC Sabah Chairman Datuk V Jothi should be appointed Senator to the Dewan Negara.
Mohan, who officiated at the AGM, said this was because Johti was instrumental in facilitating MIC’s entry into Sabah and he had done much for the Indian community in the state.
Jothi has served MIC Sabah for more than 20 years and his efforts have benefitted the Indian community in Sabah, Mohan said, adding that MIC Kota Kinabalu has requested that he be given some form of recognition at the federal level.
“They have requested that Jothi be appointed a Senator and I hope the MIC president would consider this request. He has served for almost 20 years in MIC Sabah. He is the one who brought MIC to Sabah and I think he deserves the senatorship,” he said.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, Mohan also said the delegates had brought up the issue of their application for permanent residence (PR) in Sabah.
“Those who were born here and are residing here have problems getting their application for PR approved. We will discuss this with the MIC leadership and see how we can facilitate them.
“For me, I personally feel that this must be expedited because we are all Malaysians and the needs must be according to times and not 50 years back. If there is a need to amend it (the requirements) then we should do so,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Jothi said those applying for PR include those who came to Sabah in 1968 under the Migration Fund Board (MFB) at the request of the Sabah government and their children who were born in the state.
“Even though they were born here, that does not mean they are Sabahans. If their parents who are not from Sabah do not have a PR, the child would not be granted the status as well.
“We have written to the Chief Minister about the matter and we would like to thank him for his consideration whereby 82 applications have been approved.
“In total, there are 202 Indians who came to Sabah under the MFB and there are between 500 and 1,000 of the second generation. The agreement between the federal and state governments was that they could apply for PR status after working in Sabah for more than two years.
“We have written to the Chief Minister with regards to the application status for the remaining 102 and I hope that he can expedite the approval of the PR applications,” Jothi said.
Mohan added that the state government should consider granting PR to those who have been residing in Sabah for more than 10 years.
In his speech earlier, Mohan said MIC Sabah will take the role to facilitate the many Indian students, government staff and teachers by setting up a one stop centre to facilitate and assist them.
He also said that he will propose to MIC’s central working committee to amend the membership requirement for setting up a branch in Sabah.
“In Peninsular Malaysia, the requirement is for 60 members to form a branch. In Sabah, it was agreed upon that the requirement is 50 members, but I propose that the number be further reduced to 30 members so that we can form more branches as the Indian community are scattered throughout the state,” he said.