Luke Rintod of FMT
Participants at an inaugural conference on the future of marginalised and minority communities get a shocking insight into the Indian community.
KUALA LUMPUR: Indigenous delegates from Sabah and Sarawak attending the National Human Rights Conference on the Future of Marginalised and Minority Communities in Malaysia were stunned when told of the conditions of the majority of Indians in Peninsular Malaysia.
Reacting to a paper presented by Hindraf national coordinator, W Sambulingam, one delegate from Sabah who declined to be named, told FMT: “I almost forget about my our own crippling conditions in Sabah.”
In his presentation, Sambulingam had described in detail, along with facts and figures, the striking conditions of the Indians in Malaysia.
He revealed that so depressed were their lives that suicide rates among the Indians were the highest at 21.1 suicides in every 100,000 Indians.
He also said that more than 30% of Indians do not own a house, compared to 25% Malays and 18% Chinese.