GOPIO WRITES TO THE NEW MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT

GOPIO WRITES TO THE NEW MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT

In the letter to Minister Subramanian, GOPIO President Inder Singh said, "although your own party did not achieve the margin of seats you may have expected in the recent election, your elevation to the highly respectable and responsible ministry provides you a unique opportunity to woo back 2.5 million Malaysians of Indian Origin, the majority of whom have lost faith in the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) party."

"As you very well know, Malaysians of Indian Origin and their ancestors have been contributing to the economic growth and prosperity of Malaysia. But they are deprived of fair and equal treatment in educational resources and job opportunities. As a result, a significant number of them work as plantation and/or urban underpaid laborers, and hence majority of them are poor and continue to face undue social and economic hardships."
"Your party, Malaysian Indian Congress, has been an integral part of your country's ruling coalition and at one time represented the interests and aspirations of Malaysians of Indian Origin. However, MIC as a partner of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), has not been able to get fair share for the minority Indian community as their role as coalition partner either has been rendered ineffective or considered irrelevant."

"The Malaysians of Indian Origin are your country's third largest ethnic group and the majority of them are considered to be at the bottom of the social and political ladder. A significant majority of Malaysian Indians continue to be economically marginalized and are generally seen as providers of cheap labor in plantations and construction sites. Thus they occupy the bottom rung of the Malaysian modern society, primarily due to lack of educational and economic opportunities."

"The Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) urges you to use your human resource development (HRD) portfolio to provide needed equity, skills training and equal employment opportunities to the Malaysian Indian community."