Don’t reject blueprint for Indian community, say experts

PETALING JAYA: The new special task force headed by the Prime Minister to look into the needs of the Indian community should not totally reject the Malaysian Indian Blueprint launched by the Barisan Nasional, according to experts.

Principal research fellow at the UKM Institute of Ethnic Studies Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria said it was important that the task force study the blueprint objectively.

“All existing provisions for the community under the 11th Malaysia Plan, and initiatives like SEDIC (Socioeconomic Development of Indian Community Unit) should also be independently assessed and reviewed.

“The blueprint has its strengths and weaknesses, but often, the criticisms are politically motivated. A wider, nonpolitical approach is needed,” he said.

The blueprint was mooted by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and was launched in April last year, following two years of preparation.

It contains solutions to several key issues affecting the community such as education, improving their livelihood and social inclusion.

Among the key targets were at least 7% of Indian participation in the civil service in all ranks by 2026, and a minimum 7% enrolment of Indian students in local higher learning institutions.

It also included RM500mil allocation under Permodalan Nasional Bhd specifically for the B40 group within the Indian community, and a special clearance system to grant citizenship to Indians who resided or were born in Malaya before 1957.

The fate of the muchtouted blueprint hangs in the balance, as Tun Dr Mahathir

If the ideas in the blueprint can work with proper implementation, we should maintain it. Datuk Dr A.T. Kumararajah

Mohamad gets to work on the special task force which he chairs.

SEED (Secretariat for Empowerment of Indian Entrepreneurs) former chief executive officer Datuk Dr A.T. Kumararajah welcomed the setting up of the task force, but said the blueprint remained relevant.

“It will not be wise to completely discredit it, considering its creation as a bottomup approach and largely contributed by civil society. Ultimately, the aim is to benefit the community, and if the ideas in the blueprint can work with proper implementation, we should maintain it,” he said.

Kumararajah, who is the Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Indian Chambers of Commerce secretarygeneral, noted that the Pakatan Harapan manifesto had provisions for the Indian community, which like the blueprint, encompassed the same issues affecting the community.

He said what mattered now was the methodology and speed of implementation so that the community will benefit sooner.

“Civil society must also extend its cooperation to the task force to identify issues currently affecting the community and find speedy resolutions,” he said.