Najib did more for Indians than any other PM, says MIC man
P Kamalanathan, a former deputy education minister under Najib Razak, said Najib never refused to allocate extra funds for the development of Tamil schools
GEORGE TOWN : Najib Razak has done more for the Malaysian Indian community than any other prime minister before or after him, says a MIC leader.
MIC central working committee member P Kamalanathan said Najib had proven by his actions that he had the interests of the Indian community at heart.
When Najib was prime minister, from 2009 to 2018, he had allocated nearly RM1 billion to develop the infrastructure of Tamil schools across the country, and never refused to allocate extra funds for the development of Tamil schools, Kamalanathan said.
'No former prime minister, and no prime minister after Najib, has ever done this,' he told FMT when met at a public relations event here.
Kamalanathan's comments were in response to a survey which showed that a majority of Malaysian Indians backed Najib's bid for a royal pardon. Najib is currently serving a jail sentence after being convicted of corruption and abuse of power relating to funds of SRC International.
Kamalanathan, who served as deputy education minister under Najib from 2013 to 2018, said he hoped Najib would be granted house arrest for the remainder of his sentence. 'He has gone through the punishment,' he said.
Explaining the Indian community's support for the former prime minister, Kamalanathan recalled an instance in 2016 when he sought an additional RM10 million budget allocation for Tamil pre-schools.
Najib said he was already allocating RM50 million for Tamil schools but Kamalanathan said the additional funds were needed to build 50 Tamil pre-schools. When the 2016 budget was tabled, Najib announced the additional RM10 million allocation.
Kamalanathn, a former MP for Hulu Selangor, said Najib had also increased the intake of Indian students in public universities from the existing 1,500 to 2,200. 'He's unlike other prime ministers,' Kamalanathan said.
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