Kulasegaran dismissed Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that the discussion between the MIC, Education Ministry officials and other NGOs on Tuesday had resulted in a consensus that the novel’s use of a pejorative did not intend to disparage the Indian community.
“Such clarification or argument is actually missing the real point as no one is questioning the intentions of the author,” Kulasegaran in a statement today.
“One would think that the meeting would have reached a consensus that the book has hurt the Indian community and that the controversy must be immediately resolved,” added the Ipoh Barat MP.
The Tuesday discussion, which was chaired by Deputy Education Minister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi, saw the attendance of 22 representatives, including six MIC representatives, NGOs and academicians.
The meeting lasted for four hours and Education Ministry officials had explained the rationale in choosing Interlok as the Form Five Bahasa Malaysia literature text.
Today, Kulasegaran accused the federal government of “dragging its feet” in resolving the controversy.
“It is disappointing that the federal government cannot even understand the sentiment of the Indian community,” said Kulasegaran.
“If the Cabinet leaders do understand the sentiment of the Indian community, then they definitely lack the political will and wisdom to resolve the issue,” he added.
Kulasegaran claimed that the Indian community was angered with the novel’s alleged factual inaccuracies and demeaning words.
Interlok, which was written by national laureate Datuk Abdullah Hussain in 1971, has come under fire from the MIC and several Indian groups.
They claim that its contents on the Indian caste system and the use of the word “pariah” are offensive.
Kulasegaran questioned if Interlok could promote racial unity and whether such a controversial book could be used as a school textbook.
“Why is it so difficult for the Education Ministry to right an obvious wrong?” asked the DAP national vice chairman. “Unless resolved, DAP will continue to pursue the Interlok issue during and after the Tenang by election,” he added.
The January 30 by-election will see a straight fight between Umno’s Azahar Ibrahim and PAS’s Normala Sudirman.
The 1,780 Indians form 12 per cent of the 14,753 voters in the Johor state seat.
The outcome in the battle for the Tenang state seat could determine the date of the next national polls.
Kulasegaran warned the Barisan Nasional (BN) that delaying resolutions to the controversy could turn Indian voters against the ruling coalition.
“No one should be surprised if this issue prolongs even in the general elections it will snowball to become the central issue of anger of the Indian community against BN,” he said.
