This, he said in a statement, would have been comprehensive and holistic as inputs from a wide spectrum of society would have been obtained.
“Subsequently, a report of the progress and achievements made should be tabled to Parliament annually. This would ensure a check and balance on what has or has not been done and would be made available to all and sundry.”
This blueprint announced by Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday, however, was prepared by the government and its implementation would be watched over by an executive committee chaired by MIC president Dr S Subramaniam.
This, Kulasegaran said, did not inspire confidence.
“We had the Special Implementation Task Force under him for four years. What’s the outcome? Nothing tangible has trickled down to the community,” he claimed.
The DAP national vice-president was commenting on the blueprint which, with an allocation of more than RM1 billion, is aimed at uplifting Indians in Malaysia. Najib had said that this was no “empty talk” on the part of the government.
Although Najib had said the blueprint had nothing to do with an impending general election, Kulasegaran said the BN government had a record of only announcing nice-to-hear measures whenever the election approached.
Therefore, he added, “the blueprint is definitely launched to woo voter support for the BN which may face its worst ever electoral debacle in the coming general election”.
He said if the BN government had really been sincere, committed and effective in helping the Indian community, the Indian community would not still face so many unresolved long-standing issues in the economic, educational, social, housing and employment sectors.
“The stateless Indians issue could have been resolved long ago.
“In fact, in 2000, TIME magazine carried an article about the Malaysian Indians, describing them as a ‘disgruntled underclass’ with many of them feeling like ‘third-class citizens’ in the country and the ‘real losers’ since the introduction of the New Economic Policy in 1970.
“17 years later, is the Indian community better off? And what has the government done?” he asked.
He also asked how Najib would ensure that this blueprint would really be effectively implemented to benefit the Indian community.
“Speaking at the opening of MIC’s 70th annual assembly last October, Najib said an Indian blueprint was necessary because his past initiatives for Indians had not effectively trickled down to the community’s grassroots.
“So does this not mean that the launch of the blueprint is a reflection of the government’s past failures to help the community?
“The Indian community certainly has every reason to think that the blue print launched on Sunday is but just a political eyewash. This is definitely nothing more then an election gimmick.”