From P Ramasamy
With due respect to MIC deputy president and Tapah MP M Saravanan, I beg to differ with his proposal to rename Lebuh Ampang in Kuala Lumpur as Chetty Street.
Yes, I agree that the Chettiar community once monopolised Lebuh Ampang, or “Chetty Theru”, during the colonial and post-colonial periods.
In fact, in major towns across the Malay peninsula, certain streets were dominated by the Chettiar community as moneylenders.
While I certainly agree that the Chettiars constituted a wealthy segment of the Tamil population in the country, contrary to what has been said, they did not engage in any major entrepreneurial activities.
Their business activities were confined mainly to moneylending for those in need of capital.
Historical records show that the moneylending activities of the Chettiars were quite widespread in the country, to the extent that they proved worrisome to the colonial authorities.
The manner and speed with which Malay agricultural land was forfeited to the Chettiars on account of non-payment of loans was the main reason behind the introduction of the Malay Reservation legislation in the early 1900s.
The legislation forbade non-Malays from purchasing lands that were reserved for Malay peasants.
The Chettiars were not a community that engaged in industrial activities in the country. They were, like the Chettiars in Myanmar, essentially moneylenders.
After their lands were nationalised in Myanmar, the Chettiar community became much more conservative and guarded about the nature of their investments.
As in the case of Myanmar, many Chettiars sold their properties and left for India before and after political independence.
Although the Chettiars were established moneylenders, I really doubt they invested their capital in major industrial ventures in the country.
I think Saravanan, despite his good intentions in highlighting the contributions of the Chettiar community, may not have conducted deeper research into their history.
The Chettiars could have developed into a major business community in the country. Unfortunately, due to the nature of their moneylending business and the lack of political stability, they were unable to develop a deep commitment to post-war development in the country.
The Chettiars, given their wealth and propensity to engage in Hindu temple activities, emerged as a significant Tamil sub-community in the country.
Although I am not opposed to renaming Lebuh Ampang as Chetty Street, it would be more meaningful and appropriate to name it after individuals such as V David, the late international trade unionist who championed the rights of Tamil workers.
P Ramasamy is the Urimai chairman.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.