Give mandate to BN, no one will be left behind - Najib 
PUTRAJAYA, May 2 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak called on the Indian community to give the mandate to Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th General Election (GE14) so that no one will be left behind.
Najib, who is also BN chairman, said the government needed a certain period of time to develop the country and all communities, including the Indians and Indian Muslims, who before felt that they had been sidelined due to non-availability of dedicated programmes to change their socio-economic status.
He said the government had come out with the Malaysian Indian Blueprint which outlined various initiatives including citizenship-related matters, admission to public universities, micro-credit assistance, assistance for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and social development.
"It is a very comprehensive plan for the Indian community's development. As such, I am asking for a new mandate from the Indian community as we need a certain period of time to develop the nation covering all communities," he said at a dialogue-cum-tea session with over 250 leaders of Indian NGOs and the Indian Muslim community at Seri Perdana here today.
Also present were Malaysian Associated Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MAICCI) president Tan Sri Dr K. Kenneth Eswaran and Federation of Malaysian Indian Muslim Associations (Permim) president Dhajudeen Shahul Hameed.
Najib said when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was prime minister, he (Najib) had also proposed that a cabinet committee be established to resolve the issues pertaining to the Indian community in the country.
For the first time in the country's history, a special cabinet committee has been set up for the Indian community, he said.
Understanding the needs of 600,000 Indian Muslims nationwide, Najib also announced several initiatives tailored for the community at the event.
He said a special officer from the Prime Minister's Office would be appointed after GE14, who would be responsible for handling of issues involving the Indian Muslim community.
First of all, on the Bumiputera status for admission into public universities. It may be difficult to resolve the matter due to some constraints.
However, I will talk to the (minister and) officials of the (relevant) ministry after the GE14 to address the problems being faced by the Indian Muslim community to enter public universities, he said.
Najib also announced an allocation of RM10 million for Indian Muslim NGOs over the next two years and financial assistance to build halls or complexes for the community.
On the problem of hiring foreign workers especially for restaurants as raised by Kenneth, the prime minister said a new model was needed to ensure that the operators would not face shortage of workers and at the same time, the local workers would not be marginalised.
There must be a way to increase the localisation of jobs (in the country) so that we do not entirely become dependent on foreign workers. We need to look at the issue in the long run and achieve a win-win situation, Najib added.
-- BERNAMA
