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The revelation that Indian civil servants have halved from 10 per cent two decades ago to 5.2 per cent should be the latest shock to the Indian community to make this  year’s Deepavali a sombre   occasion for serious reflection how to lift Indians  from the status of an underclass in Malaysia in the new millennium

2003 Deepavali Message
by Lim Kit Siang

(Petaling Jaya, Thursday): Three  recent events should make the 2003 Deepavali a sombre  occasion for serious reflection by the Indian community to find the resolve, spirit and commitment to  lift the Indians from the status of an underclass in Malaysia in the new millennium.  They are: 

  • The latest victims of unaccounted police shooting and killing of civilians, the majority of whom are Indians – the trio of 19-year-old V. Vikines, together with two others, Puvaneswaran, 24, and T Kathiravan, 25,  who were shot dead in Nilai less than two weeks ago;
  • The Astro censorship of the Star TV Focus Asia current affairs programme, “The Indian Underclass”, for being sensitive, not because it is untrue that the Indians in Malaysia have become the underclass, but for being too true!
  • The shocking revelation in Parliament that  Indian civil servants have halved from 10 per cent two decades ago to  the present 5.2 per cent.

The political, economic, educational, social, cultural and citizenship backwardness of the Indian community can only get from bad to worse without any hope of relief unless there is a total change in the mind-set about the Indian Dilemma in Malaysia.

Deepavali celebrates the victory of light over darkness. Let Indians and all other Malaysians unite to shine the light of justice, freedom and solidarity to conquer the growing darkness in the country which have spawned the twin problems of Indians as an underclass and a new criminal class. 

This is not just an Indian problem but must be recognized as a Malaysian problem if it is to be successfully vanquished.  But the first step must be the consciousness and unity of all Indians in Malaysia to embrace this challenge – for how can the eradication of the Indians as an underclass become a national priority when it is not accorded priority by the Indians themselves?

(23/10/2003)

* Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman