Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians

Well, there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians

Around this house

An' baby, I'm tired of this old game we play

Called cat and mouse

If you don't give just a little bit more

We're both gonna lose this race

'Cause there's too many chiefs and not enough Indians

Around this place

- sung by Dean Martin

You know that saying (and song) 'Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians'. Well, you see a lamentable element of it in Malaysiakini's Niat lists GE demands - seeks Indian M'sian DPM which reported (extracts):

The National Indian Rights Action Team (Niat) has listed out its demands for the next general election today, including calls for a Indian Malaysian deputy prime minister. 

This was among the NGO’s five demands that it wants the next government to implement within the first 100 days in office. [...] 

It also calls for three Indian Malaysian cabinet ministers and four deputy ministers, most of whom would be elected representatives, while the rest are picked from NGOs and appointed to the cabinet. [...]

In addition, the proposed line-up calls for Indian Malaysian deputy chief ministers in Selangor, Perak, Penang and Negri Sembilan, assuming that the states are ruled by the same parties as the federal government.

Such demands are only self serving but worse, it demonstrates MIC-type mentality behind them. And of course, the proposed Indian ministers and deputy ministers will not only be from those elected in the coming general election, but also from NGOs.

And NIAT's inclusion of Indian NGOs or NGOs, which have Indian members, as a source for ministerial material means one or all of the following:

(a) NIAT has no confidence in MIC (or any BN party with Indian candidates, like wakakaka PPP or more wakakaka, Gerakan) winning in any federal constituency,

(b) wink wink nudge nudge, NIAT is an Indian-based NGO - if dear Nallakarrupan can become a BN senator, why can't NIAT members be ministers or deputy ministers,

(c) NIAT secretary Arun Dorasamy obviously doesn't know what the abbreviation NGO stands for?

NIAT published a 42-page booklet which asserts that the marginalisation of Indian Malaysians was due to under-representation in government.

This statement has been the sad story of Indian Malaysians, where indeed Indian under representation in government is true but NOT because of the small numbers of Indian ministers or that the DPM is not an Indian, but the inability or reluctance of those Indian ministers to stand up and speak for the fair interests ordinary Indian Malaysians.

Thus, increasing the number of Indian ministers per se, via front or back door (like for Palanivel wakakaka), won't help those poor Indians at all.

Mind, some items in the booklet are good proposals, such as '... opening boarding schools to all students and not just those from national schools, tackle alcoholism with measures such as rehabilitation centres and banning the sale of alcoholic drinks in convenience shops and to end to statelessness by 2013.'

In the end, it's good policies by the government and ministers (of any race) who will be selfless, dedicated and courageous enough to serve all Malaysians (not just Indians, Chinese, Malays, or any other ethnic groups) that are required.

And of course if NIAT is still insisting on more Indian Chiefs, they can listen to the song 'Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians' wakakaka.