Malaysia Indian Blueprint

Last month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the Malaysian Indian Blueprint, a 10-year road map intended to address historical disadvantages among subsection of the Indian community. Among the blueprint's aspirations are giving more youth a shot at university, increasing the number of Indians in the civil service and resolving the issue of statelessness among Malaya-born Indians. Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria, principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, considers the document's strengths and weaknesses, as well as explains why the ethnic component of poverty requires serious examination.