ADUN SPEAKS | Why are funds allocated for the Indian community, especially the B40 group, being channelled via political leaders?

Why do funds entrusted to political leaders for the benefit of the community have to be channelled through their organisations?

To what extent these organisations have the best interest of the Indian poor?

Most often than not, these organisations take a significant portion of the funds for the payment of their staff and other organisational expenses.

This practice of channelling funds to the community indirectly through private organisations is not exclusive to the BN government, but also happening under Pakatan Harapan.

MIC leaders were infamous for allegedly doing this.

The Socio-economic Development of Indian Community (Sedic) under BN channelled funds to the Indian poor through indirect means. The Malaysian Indian Transformation Agency (Mitra) under Harapan is doing precisely this.

It is not wrong to give funds for private organisations, as many of them are managed by honest and responsible individuals, but this approach does not address the dire needs of the hundreds and thousands of poor Indians.

Thousands of poor Indians, through no fault of their own, have no decent jobs and are discriminated in the public and private sectors.

Mitra could have used some portion of the funds to address this problem, but the lack of thinking and the inability to consult with experts and political expediency closed off progressive options.

Financial incapacity is the debilitating factor in the pursuit of education to acquire new and relevant skills.

Hundreds and thousands of Indian students are left in a lurch after completion of their secondary education.

Why can’t those responsible devise a system to directly assist these students? Didn’t Mitra under the guidance of Minister in the Prime Minister's Department P Wathyamoorthy (photo) think along these lines?

Why should funds be diverted to organisations that have no direct role in the welfare of Indian students?

Hundreds if not thousands of small-time Indian businesspersons are hungry for startup funds. Shunned by banks and credit organisations for lack of experience, these poor Indian potential entrepreneurs badly need funds.

Sedic could have done this but failed. Mitra could have done this but failed.

What I find missing in Mitra’s allocation is the absence of concern and assistance for Indian welfare homes, especially those for children.

Hundreds of welfare homes taking care of abandoned children are in a bad financial state, but unfortunately, these homes lack the glamour to attract attention from possible donors.

More than six decades have elapsed since independence, but we have yet to come up with an effective methodology to assist the poor and the unfortunate directly.

P RAMASAMY is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang.

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