Malaysian PM assures Indians to resolve problems

KLANG - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has said that his government would continue to pay “serious attention” to problems faced by the ethnic Indian community.

His assurance Sunday night came four days after the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who had expressed confidence about Malaysia’s ability to carry along all ethnic groups and resolve their problems.

Najib and Manmohan had visited the refurbished “Little India” here last week. Najib could not return to the Indian community’s busy business district to participate in a carnival organised on the eve of Diwali, called Deepavali here.

However, his wife Rosman Mansor attended.

She apologised for his absence, citing health reasons and read out his speech, the New Straits Times said Monday.

Najib said the notion that Indians were backward was a misconception as many families and individuals had worked hard to achieve success.

“This is not a characteristic seen in backward communities. Instead, it shows a noble community with high hopes.”

Rosmah said Razak had expressed hope that he would visit the area soon to meet the local community.

Malaysia is home to 2.1 million ethnic Indians, a bulk of them Tamils.

Najib identified some of the problems as those related to birth certificates, identity cards, welfare, job opportunities, micro-credit loans and Tamil schools.

He said the best solutions to these problems were being identified through various government agencies and non-governmental organisations.

The carnival was organised by the Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry with the collaboration of local traders.

Najib stressed that Malaysia was “Namathu Naadu” (our country), and that everyone born in the country was a citizen and not a “pendatang” (alien).

He said Little India in Klang was a melting pot of cultures as witnessed by the location of temples and a mosque close by and also the Chinese community living across a bridge.

“This is the Malaysian way of life for generations and this is what we are trying to achieve.”