Indian settlements hoping for access to traditional village benefits
A PROPOSAL will be submitted to the Selangor government to gazette several Indian settlements as traditional villages to give them access to certain benefits.
Five to 10 settlements have been identified, including in areas such as Klang and Kuala Selangor under the proposal by assemblymen Rajiv Rishyakaran (Bukit Gasing), Preakas Sampunathan (Kota Kemuning) and Gunaraj George (Sentosa).
Rajiv said there were more than 300 traditional villages in Selangor that were eligible for allocations from the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
He said traditional villages were managed by a Village Community Management Council (MPKK) and led by a village chief.
'The allocations provided by the ministry must be applied for through MPKK.
'However, these Indian settlements, which mostly consist of private lots, don't qualify as they are either not part of a bigger group or have set up residents associations.
'But there is a dire need for better infrastructure such as road and drainage at these places.'
Rajiv said this during a press conference along with the other two assemblymen on the sidelines of the Selangor State Assembly sitting at Bangunan Dewan Negeri Selangor in Shah Alam.
On a separate matter, Rajiv said there was a need for Tamil-speaking officers at state-level to explain the various government programmes available to the B40 community.
He said there had been numerous complaints from the Indian community about the lack of access to state programmes, such as affordable housing, microcredit schemes as well as technical and vocational education and training.
'Some Indians struggle to understand the information provided due to their limited proficiency in Malay.
'They need assistance to understand the programmes and to complete the application forms.
'While we do assist individuals who come to our service centres, such support should be made available at state-level to ensure a wider reach,' he said.
He said Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari was verbally informed about the proposal, and gave an assurance that he would look into the matter.
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