LETTER | For years non-Malay issues have been swept under the carpet mainly due to fear of bullying tactics and abuse of power by the Umno regime. It continues with the Madani regime.

Political parties in the BN-Pakatan Harapan coalition have largely remained the same, failing to bring about changes to the lives of the non-Malays.

This is particularly so in addressing the control of the public service and government-linked companies (GLCs) by the majority race.

MIC's prayer rally at Batu Caves for former premier Najib Abdul Razak today may be a signal to show the numbers to Umno and the Madani government that the party is still relevant.

It’s also likely meant to denounce its overall critics, showing that MIC indeed has the support of the Indian community.

Perhaps it's a political strategy to get Umno and Harapan to start negotiating seats for the party in the 16th general election (GE16).

There’s nothing wrong with MIC's efforts, however, what the BN component party needs to do is to also stage similar rallies to negotiate long-standing pressing issues faced by the government.

Compared to other prime ministers, Najib had contributed significant help to the Indian community but he also divided the ethnic Indians by splitting help based on linguistic groups.

MIC's call for Indians to unite regardless of parties is noble. It's better for all splinter Indian-based parties to unite, including activists so it can focus on real community problems, instead of playing on past failed issues to win support for opposition coalitions.

Multiracial administration way forward

Governments worldwide are changing with appointments of leaders from multiracial and religious backgrounds, but in Malaysia, almost the entire public service and GLCs are dominated by one single race.

The legitimate interest of non-Malays to be part of the civil service needs to be corrected for the country to move forward.

Better transparency and accountability can be achieved with a well-balanced multiracial administration.

It's of little benefit to the Madani government just throwing minimum funds in every budget to the Indian community and then claiming that it is fair to all races.

What is expected is policy changes to show a meaningful representation of fair play across the board for all races.

Harapan should never underestimate the non-Malay voters in GE16 as they may shift support to any coalition which can offer real changes to their lives.

The writer is president of the Johor Indian Business Association.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.