From P Ramasamy

It is great that Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Anwar Ibrahim has given an assurance that if the coalition comes to power again, it will order a forensic audit of three Indian-related establishments.

They are Maika Holdings, the Malaysian Transformation Unit (Mitra), and MIC’s educational arm, Maju Institute for Educational Development (MIED).

Maika, which was formed in the 1980s with great fanfare, succumbed to financial misappropriation in a matter of few years.

Since last year, Mitra has been subject to investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) with some individuals arrested over the embezzlement of funds allocated by the government.

Meanwhile, MIED has been embroiled in financial improprieties including the misappropriation of funds meant for the educational needs of the poor Indians.

These MIC-related or Indian bodies should have been investigated immaterial of the government in power, be it Barisan Nasional or PH.

However, such investigations never took place with the exception of the MACC investigation of Mitra last year for the misappropriation of funds.

I understand that a number of persons involved in the misappropriation of Mitra funds were charged in court.

However, it is left to be seen if the real culprits will be arrested, let alone charged. The alleged involvement of politicians in the fraud cannot be dismissed.

In this sense, the need for a forensic audit could not have come at a better time.

There was never any investigation into the Maika scandal when Dr Mahathir Mohammed was prime minister in the 1980s or 90s.

The allocation of Telekom shares meant for Maika was allegedly diverted to some other companies that had little or nothing to do with the welfare and well-being of the Indian community.

Similarly, proper and fair investigation into not just the above-mentioned bodies but many other MIC-related organisations, such as cooperatives and others, have been sacrificed for the sake of political expediency.

That is among the reasons why the Indian community has lost complete trust in organisations that were ostensibly set up to assist them.

While I am supportive of Anwar on the need for a thorough forensic investigation, I am not sure whether such an investigation by itself will restore the confidence of the Indian community in the government.

PH might be well-meaning than BN or PN, but government funds to assist the Indian community in the past had been a pittance in comparison to the billions that were channeled to assist the Malays.

However, despite the billions given, the real beneficiaries have not been the poor Malays, but the political and bureaucratic elite under the New Economic Policy (NEP).

Yes, by all means call for an investigation because those who siphoned public money meant for the Indian community are still around.

They can still be charged and convicted if there is enough evidence of their misdeeds.

If former prime minister Najib Razak could be convicted and jailed, why shouldn’t those responsible for the embezzlement of funds meant for the Indian poor face the same fate.

Those responsible might not have stolen billions, but stealing or misappropriation of funds is still a crime, whether it is just a few thousand or a few million ringgit.

Unfortunately, regardless of any investigation and action against such individuals or groups responsible for misappropriating public funds meant for the Indian community, the real and fundamental cause of Indian under-development would be left untouched.

A community that has contributed so much in blood and tears doesn’t even get the respect and appreciation from the government that is more interested in ethnic and religious divisive policies.

PH should come to power, not for the sake of power but to address and solve the myriad problems faced by Malaysians irrespective of race and religion.

How PH will be able to get out of this conditioned entrapment remains to be seen.

Surely, numerically smaller and marginalised communities like Indians and others expect much more from a future PH government.

Forensic investigation might be a good start, but there remains a lot that a future PH government could do especially in moving beyond the confines of ethnicity and religion.

P Ramasamy is Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.