PETALING JAYA: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has given assurance that issues faced by the Indian community will be addressed by the unity government.
The Prime Minister said the unity government would continue to develop policies that would help address issues within all communities.
“We know that the majority of those in poverty are Malays but we need to confront the reality that the poorest of the poor happen to be ethnic Indians.
“As such, we don’t need a Malay or Indian policy for poverty eradication, we need a Malaysian policy that caters to addressing poverty for every single Malaysian regardless of race.
“The same can be said of education and schools, which is why I have allocated an additional RM1.4bil for the repair of dilapidated schools across the country, even vernacular schools,” he said in an address after meeting MIC leaders here yesterday.
Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran and his deputy Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
Anwar also acknowledged the lack of representation of Indians and pledged to discuss this with his colleagues, including Ahmad Zahid.
Great to be here: Anwar (second from left) and Ahmad Zahid being greeted by Vigneswaran (left) and Saravanan at the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. — SS Kanesan/The Star
He said that unity among races would be key in tackling issues relating to race and religion.
“I cannot understand why our own friends on the other side are exploiting sensitive issues or say that the election is about Malay survival and claim that non-Malays are taking over the country.
“This is not politics, it is a dangerous game as it is not some partisan political issue about the state elections but on the survival of our nation.
“We have seen many nations collapse from civil strife and wars that arise from this kind of talk.
“We need to put an end to it as soon as possible to prevent such things from happening here, by uniting as Malaysians,” he said.
Vigneswaran said MIC would continue to support Anwar’s administration throughout its term in office.
