Dispelling the LIES made by MP Kula Segaran (Free Malaysia Today, 05-02-2013)
Here we have listed out the seven promises that were made and met by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Barisan Nasional and MIC for the Indian community since the last election. More efforts are being undertaken to improve on the current initiatives.
Team Nambikei
In a statement to the press, Opposition MP M Kula Segaran said, “MIC promised equitable participation in the share market, increased Indian intake at public universities, better employment opportunities, increase in the number of government scholarships, greater access to entrepreneurship training and micro-credit loans, an effective urban poverty eradication programme, and the establishment of a dedicated mechanism to monitor and evaluate the delivery of public sector services in a just and fair manner.” He added that MIC and BN have not fulfilled these seven promises made to the Indian community prior to the last general election.
That these statement are baseless are undeniable. Here we have listed out the seven promises that were made and met by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Barisan Nasional and MIC for the Indian community since the last election. More efforts are being undertaken to improve on the current initiatives.
The question remains on the efforts being undertaken by Pakatan controlled state Governments. What are they doing for these 7 sectors?
Promise No.1: Equitable participation in the share market.
The efforts were undertaken when shares worth almost RM2 Billion reserved for the Indians through Amanah Saham Malaysia & Amanah Saham 1Malaysia was fully subscribed. Skim Amanah Rakyat 1Malaysia (SARA) has an allocation of 15% shares only for Indians earning between RM500 and RM3000 per month. A total of 5,703 The Indians have become investors SARA 1Malaysia up to now.
Promise No.2: Increased Indian intake at public universities.
The number of matriculation seats which was initially limited to 509 for Indian students has been increased to 1509 seats after Najib took office.
The PM has also expanded the Special Units under the Cabinet Committee for the Indian Community to ensure the increase Indian intake at public university.
Promise No.3: Better employment opportunities
RM50 million has been allocated in the 2013 budget to train 3,200 students from the estates. The training would be for skills that are in demand in order to help increase employment opportunities. More efforts are being undertaken in private partnership and in the civil service sector itself. The appointment of Datuk R. Segarajah as the deputy chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), the number 2 position in one of the most important arm of the civil service is expected to open a new gateway for the Indian community to enter the civil service and put to an end arguments on the declining intake of Indians into the public sector.
Promise No.4: Increase the number of government scholarships
100 Indian students with a first class honours and above were given a full scholarship to do their Masters and PhD studies starting in 2012. Besides that, 175 Indian students who excelled in SPM were provided a grant of RM15, 000 each by 1MDB since 2010.
Promise No.5: Greater access to entrepreneurship training and micro-credit loans
A special allocation in term of business loans in total of RM150 million was tabled specifically for Indian SME entrepreneurs through the Endowment Fund of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). Furthermore, RM30 million was allocated to finance loans to Indian entrepreneurs by TEKUN Indian Community Entrepreneur Development Scheme. An additional RM50 million for SPUMI was allocated in the 2013 budget.
In addition to that, AIM has allowed RM100 million allocation for micro-credit loans to Indian entrepreneurs and the ‘1 Malaysia Entrepreneurship Development Programme’ has been in place since March 2011 to increase revenues and grow the business entrepreneurs of Indian society.
Under the stewardship of Suria Cooperative, 2 programmes called ATOM and TUKAR was carried out. The programme called ATOM (Automotive Workshop Modernisation) was adopted to assist in the transformation of automotive workshops, specifically to Indian owned workshops around Malaysia. As for TUKAR (Sundry Shop modernization), was adopted to assist in the transformation of sundry shops to a more modern with up to date inventory and stock keeping advisory. This help is extended to Indian owners who have trouble getting loans because of not having a systematic financial management, as well as being blacklisted by the banks.
Promise No.6: Effective urban poverty eradication programme
In efforts to helping the needy and the poor, the KAR1SMA Children programme was incorporated. Since 2009, 70,648 Indian children have benefited from the fund KAR1SMA Children and a total of RM85, 817.292 were spent by the federal government for this program.
Under the KAR1SMA OKU programme, 17957 benefitted from total of RM47, 960, 850 since 2009. Through the Kebajikan Warga Emas, 34220 Indian senior citizens have benefitted from total of RM83,939,950 since 2009.
In addition to these programmes, other government subsidies such as the Klinik 1Malaysia, Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia and so on have managed to ease some of the burdens of the Indian community in terms of healthcare, daily provisions and medication.
Even Institute Jantung Negara, which subsidizes the cost of cardiac surgeries for the poor has aided many Indians who have been suffering from heart problems.
And for small business owners, the ‘1 Malaysia Entrepreneurship Development Programme’ has been in place since March 2011 to increase revenues and grow the business entrepreneurs of Indian society.
Furthermore, The Special Secretariat for Empowerment of Indian Entrepreneurs (SEED) was established to coordinate, facilitate and monitor the loan applied by Indian Entrepreneurs for funding small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and community development scheme Indian (SPUMI) which RM180 million is reserved for the Indians
Promise No.7: Establishment of a dedicated mechanism to monitor and evaluate the delivery of public sector services in a just and fair manner
Special Implementation Taskforce (SITF), Cabinet Committee on the Indian Community, Prime Minister’s Department was established in June 2010 to monitor and strengthen delivery and implementation of public sector services and programs. MyDaftar was one of the succesfull programs carried out with the partnership of National Registration Department in overcoming stateless Indian issue in Malaysia.
The Special Secretariat for Empowerment of Indian Entrepreneurs (SEED) was established to coordinate, facilitate and monitor the loan applied by Indian Entrepreneurs for funding small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and community development scheme Indian (SPUMI) which RM180 million is reserved for the Indians .[ http://www.seed.org.my ]
Action Plan for Future of Tamil Schools was formed officially on May 2012 with the appointment of Prof Dr. N. S. Rajendran as the coordinator. The role of this action plan committee was to produce a comprehensive blueprint for the total and continuous development of Tamil Schools in Malaysia. [http://www.tamilschooledu.org.my/ ]
