M A I N   N E W S

‘Little India’ greets PM, Najib
Ruchika M. Khanna in Kuala Lumpur
Tribune news service

Enveloped in violet, blue and bright pink, the once dreary and poor cousin of the upmarket Bukit Bintang , Brickfields, now re-christened as Little India, welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Malaysian premier Najib Tun Abdul Razak here this evening, as the two leaders arrived to launch the “Little India” business area. After all, it was a huge cosmetic change being effected in the area, which was once home to all brick kilns that made Kuala Lumpur into one of the most modern cities in the world.

A huge crowd of people of Indian origin gathered at the shop at Tun Sambandan street in the Brickfields area, which had now been spruced up, removed of all encroachments and redesigned as Little India - a hub of Indian shops, restaurants and home to thousands of people of Indian origin.

Since the place is mostly home to people from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, it has been decorated in all shades, hues and architecture of South India. With a whopping 35 million RM (ringgets), Malaysian Prime Minister has managed to give a new look to the place, with traditional kolams painted on the swept-tiled streets, the traditional lamps along both sides of the freshly laid road, the huge elephant fountain and arches painted in traditional bright hues.

This concept of Little India is an effort by the Malaysian government to cement the twinning of Kuala Lumpur and Chennai cities, besides making the area a tourism attraction and buzzing commercial and residential zone.

The two leaders were welcomed amid dances by children representing the Chinese, Malay and Indian culture of Malaysia, along with an exposition of classical Odissi by maestro Ramli Ibrahim.

Speaking on the occasion, Prime Minister Najib said the development of Little India was a tangible manifestation of the Malaysian Indian community that had congregated and built their lives in Brickfields over generations.

Reaching out to the ethnic Indian community that forms 8 per cent of the country’s population, he said he had had curry in Sri Kortumalai Pillayar restaurant in Little India, the day after he was elected and how the owner had now named it Najib corner.

Despite the hype, the undercurrents of tension were quite evident in the area. People said by expressing his liking for Indian cuisine, he could not erase the sense of hurt that many ethnic Indians felt. The move to form a Little India, many believe, may be nothing more than tokenism in a country where there was affirmative action for the majority turning the policy on its head.

Earlier at Putrajaya, Najib was asked a question during the joint press interaction about the perception that the community had a sense of being leftout. "This is purely a domestic matter for Malaysia," he said, stating curtly that the matter was not discussed between the two Prime Ministers during their bilateral talks.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, too, refused to speak about the issues concerning ethnic Indian here. Refusing to being drawn into any controversy, he said like India, Malaysia is multi-cultural and multi-ethnic country and he was confident Malaysia had the "built-in flexibility" to deal with the ethnic issue.

Later, while addressing the Indian community at Little India event, he said: “Malaysians of Indian origin can give full expression to their individualism and culture. As citizens of Malaysia, the Indian community’s hopes and aspirations, life, family and future lie in this country. Yet they have maintained cultural and spiritual links with India”.