Indian gangsters

Malaysiakini - Reports of Tamil schools breeding gangsterism inaccurate

Tamil gangsters - gang war in Chennai 

A group of civil society leaders said that reports that Tamil schools are a breeding ground for gangsterism were inaccurate as they were based on a misquote.

The group said they had met MySkills Foundation director S Pasupathi for clarification.

"We are able to confirm that Pasupathi did not say that 'Tamil schools are a breeding ground for gangsterism'.

"He said that children who are from poor socio-economic backgrounds are most susceptible to gangsterism irrespective of the schools they attend.

"We do agree that what he said has been misquoted," they said in a joint statement today.

The statement was signed by community leader A Vaithilingam, Action Plan for Future of Tamil Schools' NS Rajendran, M Muthusamy and S Supramani, activist K Arumugam and UKM Institute of Ethnic Studies' KS Nathan and Denison Jayasooria as well as Pasupathai.

On Aug 26, Pasupathi told a forum that gang insignia were found in the toilets of Tamil schools.

He said students were exposed to such elements from a young age.

In the statement today, Pasupathi said it was "regrettable" if he was misunderstood.

"I never discredited or intended to discredit Tamil schools and I will never do that," he was quoted as saying.

The group also affirmed that Tamil schools are a national heritage to the country and an important component of the cultural identity of the Malaysian Tamil community.

"We call on the community to work together to address the root causes affecting high-risk youths.

"We call on all to move forward and continue to focus on effective solutions for the betterment of the community and nation," they said.

Years ago, back in the 60's, my uncle told me that all sorts of Chinese gangs roamed Penang. There were the 4-Holes (See K'ang or Sei Ke'long), 8 Immortals (Pat Hsien), Gang 24 (Ji see), Yellow Eagle (Ooi Eng), Black & White Tiger (Aw Peh Haw), Red Rose (Ang Hwa), Vikings, so on so forth.

Apparently See K'ang (4 Holes) was the Big Brother of many, namely, Black & White Tiger, Red Rose, Vikings etc. Eight Immortals or Pat Hsien was their mortal enemy, whilst Yellow Eagle and Group 24 were independent gang groups, the former operating in my village Ayer Itam, wakakaka, while the latter, Group 24, had a more ancient pedigree.

And one of the most notorious gangsters in Penang was an Indian, probably a Tamil, who spoke excellent Penang Hokkien just like a Penang Chinese.

He was Supaya of Ang Hwa (Red Rose). He wasn't the only Indian gangster in Penang but he was definitely the most notorious. His notoriety was not only about his exceptional ability in gang fights (he was a tiger general, meaning he was a gang leading fighting leader) but about his super-capacity to imbibe Hennessey Brandy. It seems he could quaffed off more than a 750 cc bottle of VSOP Hennessey at a sitting.

That was in the '60s. Today 50% of gangsters in Peninsula Malaysia are Indians, and on 6 July this year, a group of 10 of them with machetes attacked a nightclub in the Dutamas area of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The club was called Destiny Club. Three people – two men and one woman – were slashed. All three were of Indian descent.

It was reported that the motive for the attack was an earlier dispute with the management of the nightclub – the attackers apparently wasn't satisfied with the service they received. The girl worked in the bar as a cashier. She was slashed to death.