COMMENT: An airport is one main gateway into a country. What you see on signboards there are supposed to reflect the main racial composition and the cultures of the country you are stepping into.
But it seems that is not the case in Malaysia. The Tamil language -- the mother tongue of some 75% of the third largest race in the country, Indians (about two million), has been conveniently left out of the signboards of the soon-to-be-opened KLIA 2 airport.
The exclusion has created a furore in the Tamil dailies with many of them highlighting the matter on their front pages.
The issue came to light following a recent media tour with the acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to the airport.
What fuelled the fire is the inclusion of the Japanese language on the signboards, alongside Jawi and the more prominent English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese.
It is a fact that many Indians, especially the younger generation, cannot read and write Tamil but that is not reason enough for ignoring it totally, language activists decried.
Malaysian Dravidian Association president PS Maniam said a sizeable number of Indians, including those from Tamil Nadu, regularly come into Malaysia as tourists and also to seek employment.
"Isn't the Transport Ministry aware of this or they just can't be bothered?" he asked in his comments in one of the dailies.
Many other leaders, including Indian Muslim ones, also lambasted the exclusion, describing it as an insult to the Indian community in the country. Some said they will forward the matter to the Cabinet for further action.
However, there is only silence as usual from MIC -- the party which is supposed to defend and fight for Indian rights in the country.
This may not come as a surprise to the Indian community for they have long given up on relying on the party for help.
The common view is that MIC has long been buried following its disastrous showing in GE12 and GE13.
On many instances, MIC has failed to defend the interests of the Indian community.
For example, it is common for the leadership to issue a statement after every SPM examination results, saying “we want more Indian students in matriculation", or something along those lines.
However, Indian students, including top scorers, still have difficulty getting into matriculation year after year.
Another common occurrence is that Indians who scored high marks in their STPM examination also failed to secure courses of their choice in universities -- that is if they are lucky enough to land a seat in any local university.
There is a lot of finger pointing when it comes to championing the rights of Indians in this country, but first and foremost, there must be unity.
A look at the current state of affairs will reveal that despite being the minority, the community has the most number of political parties -- MIC, Hindraf, IPF, Makkal Sakthi and the list goes on.
If a small group of people cannot band together to protect and fight for their own interests, don't expect others to do so. Unite for a common cause and success will come.
But it seems that is not the case in Malaysia. The Tamil language -- the mother tongue of some 75% of the third largest race in the country, Indians (about two million), has been conveniently left out of the signboards of the soon-to-be-opened KLIA 2 airport.
The exclusion has created a furore in the Tamil dailies with many of them highlighting the matter on their front pages.
The issue came to light following a recent media tour with the acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to the airport.
What fuelled the fire is the inclusion of the Japanese language on the signboards, alongside Jawi and the more prominent English, Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese.
It is a fact that many Indians, especially the younger generation, cannot read and write Tamil but that is not reason enough for ignoring it totally, language activists decried.
Malaysian Dravidian Association president PS Maniam said a sizeable number of Indians, including those from Tamil Nadu, regularly come into Malaysia as tourists and also to seek employment.
"Isn't the Transport Ministry aware of this or they just can't be bothered?" he asked in his comments in one of the dailies.
Many other leaders, including Indian Muslim ones, also lambasted the exclusion, describing it as an insult to the Indian community in the country. Some said they will forward the matter to the Cabinet for further action.
However, there is only silence as usual from MIC -- the party which is supposed to defend and fight for Indian rights in the country.
This may not come as a surprise to the Indian community for they have long given up on relying on the party for help.
The common view is that MIC has long been buried following its disastrous showing in GE12 and GE13.
On many instances, MIC has failed to defend the interests of the Indian community.
For example, it is common for the leadership to issue a statement after every SPM examination results, saying “we want more Indian students in matriculation", or something along those lines.
However, Indian students, including top scorers, still have difficulty getting into matriculation year after year.
Another common occurrence is that Indians who scored high marks in their STPM examination also failed to secure courses of their choice in universities -- that is if they are lucky enough to land a seat in any local university.
There is a lot of finger pointing when it comes to championing the rights of Indians in this country, but first and foremost, there must be unity.
A look at the current state of affairs will reveal that despite being the minority, the community has the most number of political parties -- MIC, Hindraf, IPF, Makkal Sakthi and the list goes on.
If a small group of people cannot band together to protect and fight for their own interests, don't expect others to do so. Unite for a common cause and success will come.
Well-known Latin writer Publilius Syrus once said, "Where there is unity, there is always victory."
Source :http://www.theantdaily.com/news/2014/01/12/why-no-tamil-signboards-klia-2
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