Murali Pillai, Dinesh Vasu Dash chair new committee to take Indian community forward
(From left) Senior Minister of State for Transport and Law Murali Pillai, Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam and Minister of State for Manpower and Culture, Community and Youth Dinesh Vasu Dash at a reception organised by PA's Indian Activity Executive Committees Council on Aug 7.
SINGAPORE – A new committee, chaired by political office-holders Murali Pillai and Dinesh Vasu Dash, has been set up to take the Indian community forward over the next five years.
It will work with the civil service, collect feedback and look at areas to help the community progress and assist the less advantaged within it, said Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam on Aug 7.
Mr Shanmugam, who is also Coordinating Minister for National Security, said the pair will be supported by other Indian political office-holders such as himself, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office Indranee Rajah, and Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment and Education Janil Puthucheary.
Speaking to community leaders at a reception organised by the People's Association's Indian Activity Executive Committees Council (Narpani Pearavai) at HomeTeamNS in Khatib, Mr Shanmugam said: 'We hope that we will get your support, and you've got to look at this as the start of a new phase. (The) community is in a good place. It's ready for a further take-off.'
Following the May general election where
the People's Action Party was returned to power with a 'good majority', it is a good time to take stock of where the community is, Mr Shanmugam said.
He noted that two new Indian MPs were elected under the PAP banner in May. They are Mr Dinesh, who was later appointed
Minister of State for Manpower and Culture, Community and Youth , and orthopaedic surgeon Hamid Razak, an MP for West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
The Indian community has progressed well over the past few decades, Mr Shanmugam said, pointing to income, education and home ownership statistics.
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Today, about 40 per cent of Indians are university graduates, compared with about one in six in 2000.
Incomes have also grown in the community – at the highest rate among the three major ethnic groups in Singapore, he said.
In terms of political representation, the community is doing well, Mr Shanmugam added.
It forms 17 per cent of the Cabinet, more than double its share of the national population at around 7 per cent, he noted.
'I think we need to get this in perspective,' he said.
'Sometimes we talk ourselves into thinking about discrimination and about other issues, but actually, the position of minorities in Singapore, particularly the Indian community, is a very, very strong one.'
The community is also strongly represented across the professions, he added.
'That doesn't mean that there is no casual racism. That doesn't mean that people on the ground don't face issues, but you face issues everywhere, and the question is whether you face more or less in Singapore, and whether there are pathways of dealing with those issues in Singapore.'
Speaking to reporters during the event, Mr Murali, who is Senior Minister of State for Transport and Law, said the new committee's immediate plan is to get suggestions from Indian community organisations.
'Ultimately, it's to galvanise the community together and there are a number of issues,' he said.
One is to ensure these organisations are active and have good succession plans.
Another is to help reduce recidivism within the community, said Mr Murali, who was first elected in 2016 and moved to the frontbench in 2024.
When asked who else would be on the committee, Mr Murali said it will take guidance from Mr Shanmugam and bring in 'whoever can help us'.
Mr Dinesh, who led the Agency for Integrated Care before entering politics, said the committee also wants to better coordinate and communicate policies with Indian organisations as a whole, from the ground up.
'We inherit a lot of the micro-cultures from the subcontinent, historically and even now,' he said.
'So we'll have to find a way to be as inclusive as we can, so the (committee's) structure must allow for some degree of inclusivity, so that we can hear the comments and find ways in which all of us are able to then support the community.'
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