The National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique will be conducting a Parliament briefing session (taklimat) on the 14th January 2022, to discuss the Pelan Tindakan Masyarakat India (PTMI).
However, despite being the national unity Minister, she is clueless that January 14th coincides with Ponggal, a multi-day harvest festival.
To make matters worse, in her Ministry she presides over the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (MITRA), an agency established to implement programs to improve the socio-economic and living standards of the Indian community in Malaysia, especially the low-income group and the hardcore poor B40.
Yet it seems not one officer had alerted her that it was not wise to hold a meeting about Indian affairs on a day where many Indians spend with their families, instead now they can be reminded how the current federal government has taken little to no action about the funds stolen from MITRA by certain political leaders.
Just to introduce Halimah to Ponggal, it is the time of the year where an Indian family will boil rice, milk and brown sugar in decorated clay pots, until it spills over, which signifies abundance and prosperity. It is a joyous festival.
It is unacceptable that a national unity Minister is insensitive to the different cultures and festivals in this country, so I ask the Minister to reconsider the date of the meeting and to include the agenda of the missing funds from MITRA into the meeting that will be on a different date.
The people of Malaysia will not be quiet as this government not only robs them of their own money but then ignores the matter altogether. We need answers to the stolen funds from MITRA!