MIC's new approach on community woes

The MIC will be setting up a special committee and a call centre soon to help the Indian community to overcome its woes. According to a Bernama report, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has asked MIC to form a special committee to prepare a complete report on demands by the Indian community as a follow-up to the party's proposals in June. The news agency quoted MIC president S Samy Vellu as saying that the directive followed a meeting with Abdullah on Wednesday. "The committee was asked to study the proposals in the report titled "New Mechanism for the Indian Community" presented to the Prime Minister in June," said Samy Vellu. Samy Vellu, who is also the works minister, added that Abdullah sympathised with the MIC's requests and promised to study them. "However, he asked the special committee to put in new proposals." The new proposals include data on non-Bumiputeras in the public sector, posts and vacancies at the federal, state and local authority-level, and giving priority to recruiting non-Bumiputeras in areas where they have high population concentration in sectors like welfare, education, health and youth.

On the call centre proposal, Samy Vellu said the hotline would enable the public to channel their problems to the party. He said issues such as temples and Tamil schools could be made known to the party through the call centre. "The MIC is a responsible party which represents the Indian community and has the social, moral and political obligations to protect the interest of Indians. "It will continue to struggle for the betterment of the Indian community so that they can progress together with the other communities towards achieving the objectives of Vision 2020," he added in the Bernama report. Seeking compensation MIC and Samy Vellu has come under strenuous pressure following the gathering of some 30,000 Indians in the streets of Kuala Lumpur last Sunday in a Hindraf-organised rally to highlight the marginalisation of the Indian community. It was the largest gathering of the Indian community in this country and according to analysts, their defiant stand to take part in the rally - which had been declared illegal by the authorities - only underlined their frustrations of being sidelined. The police had to use tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowd which brought the busy Jalan Ampang stretch to a standstill for almost six hours.

In a related development, the government said it would be demanding compensation for damage to public property from leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) and those involved in its illegal demonstrations.

Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Baharom said the ministry and police were estimating the damage to public property and other losses caused by the demonstrators. "The amount of losses will be conveyed to the Hindraf leaders and others involved," he was quoted as saying in Bernama. "They also have to pay for the cost of equipment that the police had to use to quell Sunday's illegal demonstrations. The government will not allow them to escape paying."