Most important news today is not the by-elections, but the comments made by MIC President Palanivel below (The Star has a similar story, without the last 4 paragraphs):

MIC president Datuk G. Palanivel has asked members of the Indian community, who are unable to make a living for themselves in towns and cities, to come back and work in the plantation sector, including in estates owned by government-linked companies.

Palanivel, who is deputy plantation industries and commodities minister, said the government had agreed to a minimum wage of about RM700 a month for the sector, compared to RM300 previously.

There were also other facilities available in estates, including free transportation for students in estate areas and free housing, he said, adding that the cost of living in estates was also low.

“The ties among estate communities are also close and the environment is secure because they are guarded round-the-clock,” he told reporters after visiting the party’s community service centre at Wisma MIC here.

He explained however that the call was meant for those who were unable to get used to urban life and were mired in hardships, particularly single mothers.

He said estates owned by GLCs such as Sime Darby were facing a shortage of workers.

Rather than taking foreign workers from Indonesia and Bangladesh, it would be better that the shortage be filled by Malaysians, he said.

Palanivel added that poverty was among problems faced by the community and that the MIC was striving to find a solution to it.

On whether the Indian community now recognised the MIC after rejecting the party in the 2008 general election, Palanivel said he was confident that the community would support the party in the coming election.

On the demonstrations staged by Hindraf in the national capital last month, Palanivel said the protest was not about fighting for the Indian community.

“I want to ask you, was the demonstration held to uphold the struggle for the Indian community, to highlight problems of poverty? The demonstration was against the use of the novel ‘Interlok’.

“They are not fighting for the Indian community,” he said. — Bernama

OK, i’ll skip the part about Hindraf, Interlok and fighting for the Indian community.

The highlighted parts above seems to indicate the positive things of relocating to estates.

Now, let’s look at the situation of estate workers who worked in estates owned by GLCs for last 20 to 50 years. Are their situation better off now? Why do we hear about “squatters”, “eviction”, “poverty” etc when talking about estate workers? Is having the above “other facilities” enough? Free housing for how long? Is it free housing or free accommodation? Kind of misleading right? Can these people dream of their own house, or will be evicted later? When we are talking about Wi-Fi in interiors areas of Pahang/Sarawak, MIC president is talking about free transport, 24/7 security, and ‘free housing”.  Is this proof that Indian community is so poor until basic needs are still yet to be fulfilled?

Next RM700, yes its basic pay, and if work hard, can earn up to RM1500. There’s a big IF because of the price of the commodity will fluctuate.  And really, is fair to compare RM700 that a foreign worker can earn to RM700 a local can earn? The foreign workers can scrimp and live on shoestring budget, but locals have many expenses – from food for family, insurance (a big if here) to Astro (yeah, its a necessity now – even setinggan [squatter] area have them),  medical bills, education etc. With prices increasing rapidly, I don’t think rural areas will be left out. Even RM1500 also won’t be enough for a family of 3 or 4.

Moving on, how’s the school conditions in estates? Obviously, if the enrollment increases due to “returning back”, schools will have more clout to demand better infrastructure. But remember, the schools still sit on private land. No guarantees that anything will change.  Can we see 1Malaysia clinic in the estates? How about the Community Broadband Centres in estates? Got or not?

Living in rural areas like estate, the children will lose a lot in terms of exposure. How likely are they to mix around with other Malaysians? Instead they may pick up foreign habits and languages.

I know of some Malay folks who move back to their villages due to hardship. The reasons above are valid – lower cost of living, less pressure, better community ties. The BIG difference is that these folks have their own ancestral land, not work for other people.  I would love to have heard the MIC President say that the poor Indian families should relocate to rural areas and government will assist by giving them some land. Now, that will be helpful in a big way. Of course, if you expect these single mothers/poor folks to easily learn how to tap rubber or harvest oil palm, then surely can have same faith that they are able to till their own plot of land.

I would have been proud if the MIC President said that agriculture is a good industry and MIC would help to create more entrepreneurs or farmers by some special scheme. Instead, its just encouragement to be blue-collar, semi-skilled labor. Still be poor, but in different environment. Worse still, be dependent on the estate for basic facilities.

I think the estate environment needs much more improvement, but sadly, its not possible in near future. Thus the call for some folks to go work in estate is inappropriate at this point of time. If wrongly done, we’ll be condemning them to another long vicious cycle of poverty and subservience.

It is better to help the folks to adjust to life in their current location rather than suggesting relocation.

I too wonder, what would the reaction be if Palanivel suggests that other poor urban Malaysians (read: Malays and Chinese) also relocate to estates? Apa macam, bolehkah? What is good for the goose, should be good for the gander too, no? Or is it  a case of “hey, we need cheap labor. Why not make use of the hardworking Indians? Bring them back to estates and we can avoid taking foreign workers and paying levy. They worked hard for last 50 years. Surely can employ them again for next 50.”.

Oh ya, how about banning toddy and samsu first?

I think Palanivel made a big blunder here. Not sure who cooked up this idea for him to announce.