At a press conference today, the DAP’s Klang MP Charles Santiago and PKR’s Seri Andalas assemblyman Dr Xavier Jayakumar also said the plan, in fact, marginalised the poor even further.

“The report does not focus on how to move the B40 group up the socio economic ladder and increase their wealth,” Santiago said referring to the bottom 40% of households with monthly incomes of RM3,900 and below.

“Worse, the blueprint only offers opportunities to the middle class and elite Indians,” he added.

Santiago also said the blueprint did not set targets.

Prime Minister Najib Razak had, in April, announced the launch of the MIB, a 10-year plan to improve the lives of Indians.

Santiago also took issue with the Secretariat for Empowerment of Indian Entrepreneurs (SEED), a flagship project under the MIB that is said to have helped over 20,000 entrepreneurs obtain loans from commercial banks.

He said it was difficult for the poor to apply for a loan as one would need some form of collateral as part of the criteria. “Most Indians do not have collateral. How can they apply for loans?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Jayakumar questioned why the government needed 10 years to resolve the issue of stateless Indians.

“If the oppositions takes over as the Federal Government we will solve the matter within six months,” he said.

This is not the first time the MIB has been criticised. Indian rights group Hindraf had labelled the blueprint as an “April fool’s trick” while PKR’s N Surendran had said the blueprint was vague on details, allocation of funds and implementation mechanisms.