Permim: Key issues being looked into

Indian-Muslims happy with Najib’s pledges

KUALA LUMPUR: Key longtime issues of the Indian

Muslim community are finally being looked into thanks to

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, said representatives of Indian-Muslim NGOs.

Federation of Malaysian Indian-Muslim Associations (Permim) president Dhajudeen Shahul Hameed said Najib made several key pledges during their high-tea session on Wednesday that would bring “great benefit” to the Indian-Muslim community.

“These pledges are well received by the community. It shows the consideration Najib has towards our community,” he told a press conference in Selangor Mansion yesterday.

“We have been fighting for these issues for a long time, maybe for more than 10 years.

“We have always felt marginalised and that we were not being taken care of properly.

“So, we hope there are positive steps towards improving our status and welfare in this country.”

On Wednesday, Najib announced a number of plans to address the views and concerns of the Indian-Muslim community in Malaysia.

One is to appoint an officer in the Prime Minister’s Office who would look after the affairs of the IndianMuslim community.

Dhajudeen said the appointment of the officer would provide the Indian-Muslim community with the platform to channel their views and concerns.

“With this (officer), we will have a focal point to refer to and to channel the issues of our community without going around in circles,” he said.

He also said he was pleased with Najib’s pledge to look into their request to give bumiputra status to the Indian-Muslim community, especially with regards to their enrolment into public universities.

Najib also agreed to provide financial assistance worth RM10mil to Permim to be distributed to all NGOs under it.

A community hall would also be built, Dhajudeen added, with Najib saying that he would look into the allocation of land and funding for the project.

Dhajudeen said the high-tea session with Najib represented the concerns of over 120 Indian-Muslim NGOs.

Permim encompasses NGOs such as Penang Muslim League and the Indian-Muslim Association of Perak.

He said there are currently about 600,000 to 700,000 Indian-Muslims in Malaysia.

Standing united: Dhajudeen (third from right), Penang Muslim League president Datuk Najmudeen Kader (second from right) and Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association’s (Presma) president Ayoob Khan Muhamad Yakub (third from left) and other...