Fifty years of independence is one of the greatest things a nation can achieve and it would never have been made possible without the unity that has dwelled among our Malaysian souls.Being in a multi-cultural nation, it is definitely not easy to bring all the people of the different cultures and races to come together.

What I don’t understand is, if all of us are trying to live as one, why are there projects done in educational institutions that just focus on one race? There is this project that is being conducted in Malaysia’s premier varsity, Universiti Malaya.

It is a Student Leadership Convention which focuses on bringing only Indian students leaders from universities nationwide together. If this project is to be really beneficial as it claims to be, why don’t they invite university student leaders of the other races too?

To run this country, we don’t just need Indian leaders; we need all Malaysians to be a part of it. As an academic institution that has been established over a century now, UM can’t afford to make mistakes by allowing its students to organise such projects as stated above.

Furthermore, this project is conducted by funding from UM’s Student Affairs Department as well as via sponsorships by various VIPs (either guest speakers or prominent figures).

The point to be noted here is that the project does not even have a specific bank account where the funds can be kept safely. Instead, funds from these VIPs are handed either:

a. in the form of cash to a particular student;

b. by cheques issued under a particular student’s name; or

c. directly credited into a particular students’s savings account

All the above three methods mar the good intention of the project itself as some particular students would be the sole benefactors financially besides being the ‘financial controller’ of the project’s funding.

Plus, it also shows how unprofessionally sponsors are treated in a university that is supposed to generate the nation’s future intellectual community. Immediate action needs to be taken to review the course of the project if we don’t want to mislead the future Indian Malaysian generations.

The intention of this project can be justified as it is for a good course but for it to focus it on just the Indian Malaysian student leaders is undesirable. Please ensure that there is a proportionate representation of student leaders from other races too.

Either that or halt the event until further study has been done. And to sponsors of this project, please do not release your funds blindly and please do ensure your money is used for the right purpose - not for the exclusive benefit of any single student.