2009 Budget Review

Article number: 153

(1) It shall be the responsibility of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to
safeguard the special position of the Malays and natives of any of the
States of Sabah and Sarawak and the legitimate interests
of other communities in accordance with the provisions of this
Article
 EDUCATION?

A total of RM 31 Billion has been allocated for education

About 370 (75%) out of 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia

not fully aided by the government and in dilapidated-conditions,
What is the allocation for the Tamil schools - nothing

In the Tamil school in Tampin Linggi, Port Dickson,

the class room roof was simply blown
away by strong wind, the class room caught fire
and 40 pupils escaped death. (Tamil Nesan 18/06/08 at pg 5).

The Springhill Tamil School, Port Dickson was given a mere

peanuts or breadcrumbs RM 25,000 to build three class rooms
(Tamil Nesan 17/08/08 page 4).
 EDUCATION?

The biggest Tamil school in Malaysia, 104 year old Simpang Lima in Klang
with 2,152 pupils and 97 teachers has been denied extra land space or for
the school to be divided into two has been denied by the Deputy Education
Minister

Seaport Tamil school in SS7, Petaling Jaya which is currently sitting on a

0.6 hectare land and overcrowded has been denied an additional 1.2 hectare
land for expansion (NST 14/07/08at page 13).

There are 10,000 Indian families in Kg. Lindungan

but the UMNO government has turned down the
request for a Tamil school (NST 14/07/08 at page 13
 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNTITES?

The 2009 Budget allocates RM 47.7 Billion or 23% of the total Budget proposal to develop
quality Human Development Capital, RM 2.4 Billion for Program Latihan dan Kemahiran. To
achieve this RM 150 Million allocated to upgrade 13 polytechnics and 15 community colleges
with an enrolment of 112,000 students. RM 200 Million allocated for Institute of Industrial
Training and High Technology Training Centre. RM 360 Million for Institute Kemahiran Mara,
Institute Kemahiran Tinggi Mara, Kolej Pelajaran Mara and Giat Mara. RM 70 Million to train
5,600 nurses in Nurses Training College by Ministry of Health. RM 30 Million to create Pusat
latihan Jururawat in Wilayah Koridor Ekonomi Utara. Construction Industry Development
Board will train 100,000 in the construction Industry, Technical, Ironworks, Management and
Safety. RM 627 Million for polytechnics and community colleges

Another very glaring example is as was reported in Tamil Nesan on

12/08/08 at Pg 10 where Thayani Saravanan’s application to join a
Government Nursing College was rejected. The Lunas MIC brought the
matter to MIC President and after his intervention Thayani now gets the
place. Thayani’s mother is a single parent and from the lower income
group. Why should it take an Ex-Minister of 30 years standing to intervene
for Thayani to secure a place for training when the overall training budget
is for RM 47.7 Billion or 23% of the overall 2009 Budget?
 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNTITES?

Tamil Nesan reported on 02/09/08 at page 18 that only 247

or mere 3.5% of the total students who graduated
from University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) were Indians.

Renuvathy the sixth best student in the country

with 13 A1s’ did not get a PSD scholarship
[NST focus 22/06/08 page 33]

Kamini with10 A1s’ in SPM and all As’ in UPSR and SRP
was denied a place to do medicine by way of a government
JPA scholarship [Tamil Nesan front page 14/05/08].

57 years old ex-army staff N. Siva Sankaran’s 22 year old son who
scored 10 A1s’ in SPM was not only denied a JPA scholarship
but was also rejected by University Tenaga Nasional and
University Petronas [NST 22/05/08 page 22]
 AGRICULTURE?

RM 56 Billion has been allocated to increase food production in Sabah alone.

RM 5.5 Billion allocation for food security for 2008 to 2010. RM 180 Million in
cost of living allowance for fishermen, RM 120 Million incentives for fish landing,
RM 475 Million for fertilizers for rice farmers, RM 33.8 Billion total payments for
subsidies, RM 1.6 Billion for padi related subsidies

What is the allocation for the Indians in agriculture?

99% of even the pre-existing plantation workers families from the colonial era
were excluded from thousands of hectares of major land ownership schemes like
Felda, Felcra, Risda, MADA and KADA. Why? The Indians were landless poor.
This policy of excluding the landless Indian poor is still continued under the Ninth
Malaysia Plan and the 2009 Budget.

UMNO controlled Sime Darby, one of the biggest plantation company in

Malaysia makes a profit of RM 5.2 Billion.but the Indian labourers
in these plantations die as paupers not having given land ownership
schemes like Felda, Felcra, Risda or for that matter proper compensation
and retraining for a new life when the former estates are turned into
property development projects.
 WELFARE ASSISTANCE?

The 2009 Budget increases the state welfare assistance from RM 400.00 per
month per household to RM 720.00 per month for the Peninsula. However in
practice, the Welfare Department appear to have unofficial instructions from
UMNO to exclude or minimize welfare help to about 90% of the Indians. To cite
the latest example is the case of two brothers K. Arumugam (65) and K. Krishnan
(62) who have been living in a ramshackle for over 10 years near Jalan Bukit Ubi
Muslim cemetery, Kuantan [NST 3/09/08 page 21]. If not for Siva the Mill owner
who owns the land, both these brothers would be on the streets. How did these
two brothers escape the poverty safety net and welfare assistance for at least ten
long years if not longer.
Answer- the UMNO controlled Welfare Services Department has unofficial
instructions to exclude as many Indians as possible. Thousands of other Indians
have similarly been excluded.
 ALLOCATIONS TO SOLVE BASIC PROBLEMS?

40,000 Malaysian born Indian children denied Birth Certificates in Selangor

Despite the fact that 40,000 Indian children born in Malaysia have been
denied birth certificates in the State of Selangor alone the UMNO controlled
Malaysian Government in it’s 2009 Budget did not make any allocations to
resolve this very serious issue.

To the contrary when UMNO is determined on any policy they go all out. For
example UMNO directed it’s entire 3,526 front line Agriculture Department
Staff to fully utilize an additional RM 3 Million allocation for food production
under the Ninth Malaysia Plan [NST 27/08/08]. Similarly UMNO could have
utilized some 3,526 officers and staff of the Home Ministry and the National
Registration Department with an RM 51 Million allocation and resolve once
and for all the issue of 150,000 Malaysian born Indians nationwide who have
been denied birth certificates and identity cards.
 ALLOCATIONS TO SOLVE BASIC PROBLEMS?

Thousands of these young boys and girls are denied into primary
schools to start off with. Some Tamil schools headmasters take
the risk and out of pity admit these children into Tamil schools.
But then they are denied entry into any secondary schools as
there are almost nil secondary school Indian Head Masters to
take pity on these children. UMNO threw sand directly into their
rice bowl by sending out a circular in 2007 to all Tamil schools not
to admit these Indian children. In the Tamil Nesan on 14/06/08
reported that Ten Tamil School students were sacked from the
Kapar Tamil School because they had no birth certificates.
 ALLOCATIONS TO SOLVE BASIC PROBLEMS?

The Tamil Nesan on 16/08/08 at page 16 reported that Mogana Sangari

who scored 5As and 2Bs in UPSR still can’t get into secondary school.
Despite a letter from the Education Minister from Putrajaya the state
Education Department refuses to admit her. Had Mogana Sangari been
a Malay Muslim she would have been taken into one of the elite
residential school. Despite an Indian Deputy Minister’s interference,
Mogana was still denied entry into a secondary school. This Indian
“mandore” of UMNO does not even have the power to pick up the phone
and instruct the State Education Department to take in this high
achieving student. But this Indian Deputy Minister is supposed to be
sharing power in the UMNO controlled Malaysian Government.
 WHEN BASIC PROBLEMS DO NOT GET SOLVED ?

Many of these technically “stateless” children are somehow pushed

into the world of crime for their survival. They can not open a bank
account, can not get a car driving license, can not buy a house, can
not get a decent job, can not get a license to do business and have to
live at the mercy of other people. Out of no or very little choice and
almost no upward mobility opportunities.

Some of the young girls are easily forced into prostitution and other
vice activities. The young men end up becoming gangsters, robbers,
hijackers and take up other high risk criminal activities as they do not
have much to lose anyway.

Others live a life of misery all through their lives and end up in the
streets or some ramshackle hut next to Muslim cemetery in Kuantan
for at least 10 years as happened to two Malaysian born brothers K.
Arumugam (65) and K. Krishnan (62) who have only been issued with
a Permanent Residence card. These two brothers may have suffered
all their lives without a Birth Certificate and are going to die in misery
in a few years time which are supposed to be their golden years.

Perhaps UMNO intends it this way otherwise they would have put up an allocation of RM
51 Million and got this problem sorted out and solved once and for all within six months.
 MICRO CREDIT?

We have evidence of 100% of applications for micro credit AIM

loans have been rejected as per the latest news report in the New
Straits Times dated 01/09/08 at page 16. It has been reported that
AIM has not given loans to any of the 200 people it had
recommended this year says Malaysian Indian Business
Association President Mr. P. Sivakumar who confirmed so vide his
nationwide micro financing survey
In direct contrast up to 2006 Tekun Nasional has given out
134,000 loans to about 80,000 bumiputera borrowers
As of July 2008 a financial enterprise of six banks and three DFI gives
micro financing to micro enterprises and self employed with an
average financing of RM 9,800.00 per person.
 URBAN POVERTY?

reported in Tamil Nesan on 24/08/08 at page 5 that homeless Indian

family living in abandoned shop house with no water and electricity in
Kluang including a pregnant lady and school going children. The welfare
officer who visited them did not even help put them in a home. In fact the
local Kluang MIC had to arrange to send the school going children to
nearby Tamil school. The Welfare Department however promised a sum
of RM 100.00 per month which is 1,500 times below the mark set by the
government for the lower income group. That too if this RM 100.00 is
approved by the Welfare Department.
 URBAN POVERTY?

Edisi siasat screened on NTV 7 at 6.30pm on 23/08/08 showed the family of

Nagammal (31) with seven children and has been working as a cleaner lady
at Sime Darby building for the past 10 years.. Her husband is in jail for a
poverty related crime. Knowing that she and her seven children have no or
very little opportunities to benefit from the Millions and Billions in the UMNO
controlled Malaysian Government development plans some of which are also
outlined in the Ninth Malaysia Plan hereinabove Nagammal tried giving poison
to her children and when she failed, she just killed herself. To Nagammal and
about 70% of the Indians in Malaysia there is no or hardly any opportunities
for upward mobility.

This programme then highlights another two families in the hardcore poor
group earning RM 300.00 and RM 600.00 per month respectively. One family
is forced to stop from school and send their 17 year old son to work at a
coconut water stall. Finance Minister Noor Mohamad Yaakob states that there
are 18,000 school dropouts according to the midterm review of the Ninth
Malaysia Plan we estimate that 70% of these 18,000 school dropouts are
Indians. The Lukut Tamil school is shoved upstairs a shop house. Standard 5
school child Papathy says that her class-room is congested with no playing
field, no school assembly.
 URBAN POVERTY?

. During the Permatang Pauh by elections, MIC President Samy Vellu who
had served as a minister for 30 years inadvertently admitted that the Indians
in Kampong Bagan Serai and Seberang, Kuari, Permatang Pasir are living in
worst conditions than in Africa. In other parts Indians are living in pathetic
conditions in slums [TV 3 news at 8.00pm on 22/08/08].

Despite all these pre-existing poor and poverty riddled Indian community,
there was no policy statement by the Prime Minister not to exclude the Indians
from the mainstream development
and the legitimate interests of
other communities?

It is plain and obvious from the above

narration that the Indians have intentionally
been excluded from the RM 207.93 Billion
Budget and the mainstream development of
Malaysia