Ramasamy: Jinx or not, the Chinese and Indians are again marginalised under 13th Malaysia Plan
Succumbing to the trade dictates of the US to obtain the 19% tariffs reduction is an example of a national policy gone wrong.
At the same time, Anwar defended the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) by vouching that it was far superior to other five-year plans because financial allocations to the Bumiputera community far exceeded them.
Again, it is the same contradictory Anwar who defended the 13MP by saying that it was race and religious neutral. Yet the Chinese and Indians were given pittance in financial allocations.
The Malaysian Economic Transformation Unit (MITRA) that used to be allocated RM100 mil per year seems to have been abandoned.
Opposition, too deprived Chinese, Indians
In this respect, the 13MP is the worst five-year plan in comparison to others. Essentially, the Chinese and Indians have been taken for long ride.
Yet there are cheerleaders in the DAP and PKR who seem to be blind and deaf to the injustice committed by the Madani government.
Given the political competition between the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led coalition and the opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition on the matter of Bumiputera, the Chinese and Indians have become politically irrelevant.
Since the focus of the opposition is overwhelmingly on Bumiputera matters, Chinese and Indian matters do not pose a political problem for the Madani government.
Interestingly, Chinese and Indian matters are not even given prominence by political parties within the PN coalition.
Even if the government does not give importance to Chinese and Indians, surely the opposition has a duty to take up matters of the Chinese and Indians at least to pressure the government to address them.
The overly mono-ethnic concerns of the opposition could be one of the reasons why the government neglects the pressing issues of the Chinese and Indians.
Without this inclusive approach, then it would be difficult for the opposition to make serious in-roads in the Chinese and Indian communities. – Aug 6, 2025
Former DAP stalwart and Penang chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
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