LETTER: As usual in the annual budget there will be allocations, big and small, for various communities and every community has begun to expect this as if it has become the norm.
The Indian community as usual will get about RM100 million plus another allocation for the Tamil schools. Previously, the allocation was channeled through Sedic and later Mitra to help the deserving Indians through this assistance scheme.
Both Sedic under the MIC and Mitra under Pakatan Harapan have been mired in controversy concerning the disbursement of funds to the Indian B40. Police reports and complaints to the MACC have been made and these have become a shameful episode denting the image of the community. Indians are very much disenchanted with their leaders and the ways things are in the country.
Lack of transparency and accountability will frustrate the efforts to assist the impoverished community. It will be much better if the fund is disbursed through a government department or agency very much like how the Tekun scheme is managed.
The department entrusted with the allocation will surely do a better job as it will be subjected to greater scrutiny. The fund should be used where there can be greater multiplier and spill-over effects for the community.
Hand-outs should not be encouraged as it is a one-off payment and nothing worthwhile happens with it.
The fund should be used for the growth of Indian micro-businesses, SMEs, training and apprenticeship schemes under TVET, online tuition for Indian students taking the SPM and STPM, setting up assistance scheme centres or offices to be managed by volunteers in parliamentary constituencies with a large Indian presence to enable Indians to get all the information and help in applying for the grants, loans, disbursements etc.
The pandemic has opened up many opportunities for Indians to do various online business and the fund could be used to help the young to venture into business. Using the NGOs is costly and reduces the fund available for other purposes.
A major handicap with the Indian community especially the B40 is that they are not able to utilise the funds for targeted purposes, and sometimes the allocations are returned back to the government due to no takers. This should not happen.
Make it easier for the poor to apply for money to begin new start-ups, however, small. Many small Indian businesses don't have proper documents or licences. Asking them to bring a stack of supporting documents for the application simply turns them away.
The conditions should not be too stringent. The applicants can be given a short course and briefed about the requirements and also be made aware of business opportunities, training schemes etc. This gives the applicants more confidence and they will see the big picture.
A lot of the Indian poor have negative habits and a host of social ills plaguing them, and need more effort and perseverance to be uplifted from poverty than the Malay poor. The local government authorities too should help Indian micro-businesses.
The government's yearly allocation is appreciated but the amount should be in the range of RM200-500 million noting the poverty level of the community. A major effort should be made using the fund to start SME hubs for Indian entrepreneurs in the west coast states. Indians need to enter the SME business and bigger industries to prosper themselves in line with the nation's development.
Another shortcoming when it comes to helping the Indian community is the lack of data. No one knows exactly the total number of the hard core poor or the B40 and other essential demographics of the Indian community.
Important data concerning the community can be obtained by using the Tamil media - newspapers, radio and television.
A census of Indians should be obtained - such as their education level, household income total, what type of assistance they need, what is their planning for their future and other relevant r information.
An online or printed questionnaire posed to the Indian community in the media will gather the necessary data for the government to know more about the community and the need for affirmative action programmes.
Local Indian community leaders can also help out by gathering the data. Otherwise the government is at best taking a shot in the dark, and it is no wonder that poverty is still much prevalent among Indians.
There is no need to give this allocation for schools, temples or even NGOs as they can source for funds elsewhere. About RM50 million is given annually to schools and they can use this to buy laptops, do minor repairs and other needs.
The government can offer free internet services to all schools using the USP fund and this is better than the presently discriminatory ways of disbursing the USP fund, where Tamil schools get a meagre number of laptops.
It is hoped that under the concept of the Malaysian Family the Indians as well as the poor of other communities will be able to get a fairer share of the economic cake.
V. THOMAS
Sg Buloh, Selangor
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times