Association questions timing of ex-MPs’ proposals for Indian community

The president of the Selangor Wilayah Indian Business Association, Steven Theventharan, has raised concerns over the timing of proposals by two former MPs, Charles Santiago and Rafizi Ramli, aimed at uplifting the Indian community. Theventharan argued that he had not observed either of them demonstrating urgency in addressing the community's needs before.

Santiago, who has served as Klang MP for three terms since 2008, and Rafizi Ramli, who has been an economy minister since 2022, were recently part of a coalition of 19 Indian organizations called Gelombang Saksama. This coalition proposed creating a dedicated statutory body, a public-private funding vehicle, and a Cabinet committee to tackle the Indian community's socio-economic challenges. They presented these ideas on Thursday.

However, Theventharan questioned why these proposals were now being made, given that the problems facing the Indian community predate Santiago's tenure as MP and Rafizi's role as economy minister. He specifically pointed out that Rafizi had presented numerous "formulas, economic models and grand ideas" during his tenure as economy minister, questioning where these specific proposals were when he held the relevant positions.

Rafizi, who now leads the Bersama party, stated that they would consider the proposals as they develop their policy papers, which will eventually shape their manifesto. Meanwhile, Ravi Murugan, president of the Dewi Sri Maha Mariamman Bandar Springhill Association, cautioned against politicians creating confusion and raising expectations among Indians whenever political circumstances shift.