Despite a history of migration that goes back two centuries, a fair representation in the ruling coalition government and enjoying the fruits of the country's economic growth, Malaysia's Indian community sometimes sees itself as a marginalised group.
Malaysians of Subcontinental origin today make up 1.5 million of the country´s 20.7 million population. The rest are 12 million Bumipulcras (sons of the soil— Malays), 5.3 million Chinese, 600,000 of ´Other´ races and 1.3 million non-citizens.
The Indian representation in the Government is via the Malaysian Indian Congress, or MIC, which is led by the authoritarian, often temperamental and embarrassingly emotional S. Samy Vellu. An architect by background, Mr Vellu is not seen as a very serious representative of the minority Indians. Often given to outbursts, threats and tears directed at his own community when he feels his ´rule´ is being questioned, Mr Vellu is unfortunately the only official voice of the Indians in government. Challenges have been mounted against his control of the MIC, but these have effectively been squashed with support, it is said, from the highest levels of government.
Two years ago, Mr Vellu took particular umbrage at an Indian university lecturer who had suggested that Tamil-speaking Malaysian Indians came from the labourer class of Tamil Nadu, while Sri Lankan Malaysians were from a belter background since they came to Malaysia as clerks. Taking this as an affront to the community as a whole, Mr Vellu threatened to send hit squads after both the the lecturer and the journalist who reported her ideas.