By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Many Malaysian Indians take to crime because of “insufficient employment and educational opportunities,” says S. Samy Vellu, works minister and senior leader of the community.
Vellu, who heads the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), also told a party meeting that he would meet youth from various regions over the next two months to understand their problems and seek their views.
He said the MIC had drawn up a three-pronged plan to help the Indian community and steer the young away from undesirable activities.
The plan, to be implemented over the coming months, would stress on vocational and skills training for the youth and helping Indians in business, The New Straits Times reported Friday.
Ethnic Indians, predominantly Tamils, who came to Malaysia during the British era, form roughly eight percent of the country’s 27 million population.
MIC, which is the largest party of ethnic Indians, is part of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.
Vellu said there would be several new faces in the list of candidates for the upcoming general election. These would include the “young and energetic”, he added, warning that the candidates needed to be intelligent, approachable and equipped with the “necessary qualifications” as well.
Elections are due in Malaysia next year. But there is speculation about their being advanced to next March.