MIC deputy president Datuk M Saravanan has published a sharply-worded Tamil poem denouncing two Malaysian state executive councillors, alleging that they have failed the Indian and Hindu communities through exclusionary and divisive policies.
In the first section, Saravanan takes aim at Perak’s executive councillor for human resources, health, Indian affairs and national integration, A Sivanesan, over the recent announcement of a five-year moratorium on the construction of Hindu temples on government land.
Saravanan, referring to Sivanesan as “a needle that betrayed the community”, challenges the historical basis of the ban:
“Before it even became government land, the ruling British themselves gave our ancestors permission to build a temple there.
From now on, let our people build temples in the sky!”
He questions Sivanesan’s political credibility and suggests that such actions will alienate voters:
“But where will you go seeking votes?
Oh, you’re the one who keeps a rocket, right?
You’ll secretly approach us—
Don’t you dare claim to be the one bringing change!
We know you came to deceive.”
Saravanan’s poem then turns its focus to Penang’s executive councillor for housing and environment, Datuk Seri S Sundarajoo, who had recently announced a five percent discount on property purchases for the Indian Muslim community—excluding Hindu Indians.
Using culinary metaphor to draw attention to perceived intra-racial discrimination, Saravanan writes:
“No exemption for the ‘Nasi’—
But a 5% concession for the ‘Nasi-Kandar’?
Wretched ones! This society should now reject you.
You can’t even recognise that the Nasi and Nasi-Kandar belong to the same community—
And you want all of India to vote for you?
Maybe even this won’t get through to you—so I’ll say it loud and clear:
The Indian and the Indian Muslim are always of the same race.
Different religions, but united in heart.
To those petty people who divide sheep and lambs with ‘5%’ labels—
Abdul Khadir and Amavasai are brothers!”
He castigates Sundarajoo further, accusing him of arrogance and short-sightedness:
“In the past, at least God gave us a dhoti and offered work—
But you, ‘Needle’, are snatching even the loincloth we have left.”
Saravanan also censures Tamil cultural organisations and associations, accusing them of silence in the face of injustice in exchange for government subsidies:
“They’ve filed petitions asking for subsidies and will not open their mouths until that comes through.
If someone like Vairamuthu comes, they’ll rent out their voice—
Saying, ‘Don’t come, don’t come!’”
Concluding his poem, Saravanan suggests that the Indian electorate has grown wiser and is prepared to make better political choices in future elections.
“The experience would result in them making better decisions in the future,” he said. - June 8, 2025
