14 hours ago
Indian 'mandors' not the real problem
COMMENT | The Malaysian Indian People's Party (MIPP) deputy president S Subramaniam has suggested that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim head the Indian Community Action Committee (ICAC) rather than appointing Indian 'mandors' from PKR or the Pakatan Harapan-led coalition.
The British planters used the 'mandor' system during the colonial period, in which Indian 'mandors' or supervisors were appointed to manage the labour affairs.
The 'mandors' might be South Indian Tamil, but they took instructions from the white managers in managing labour affairs in the plantations.
Unlike the Chinese 'kepala' who had the material interest of Chinese labour, the Indian 'mandors' functioned on behalf of the plantation bosses.
My book on plantation labour describes in detail why...
