What do you get when you have two Indian lawyers?
James Chin, The Malaysian Insider
I’m sure you all have heard of this racist joke: what do you get when you have two Indian lawyers? The answer is: three law firms — one each and the third is the partnership. The joke is to convey the public perception that Indians are fine lawyers and just love to argue.
I’m not sure what the origin of the joke is but it may have to do with the fact that some of the most famous lawyers in this country are people like Karpal Singh and his son, Mr Looks-And-Sounds-Like-Me V.K. Lingam and judge Gopal Sri Ram. There are many others, some sadly no longer with us. These are formidable legal minds and known to suffer no fools.
I’m bringing up the issue of lawyers simply because one other interesting bit about Indian lawyers is that they tend to get involved in politics (not all but many of them). Most of the Hindraf leaders are lawyers and if you believe the news, one of them has just registered a new political party called Parti Hak Asasi Manusia or Paham.
This comes after the formation of the Malaysian Makkal Sakthi Party (MMSP), led by former Hindraf national coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran.
There is also a rumour floating around that another Indian leader is planning for another party.
At least half a dozen parties are chasing the support of the 7.8 per cent of Malaysia’s population of Indians who made up slightly more than 10 per cent at the time of independence. The really bad news is that in about a decade’s time, the Indian population will fall to below 5 per cent.
So you can clearly see that with more Indian-based parties and an Indian population (in percentage terms) going down, the political voice of the Indians is going to be a whisper.
