A Dialogue Session between the Gerakan Youth Wing, EWRF and Tamil Foundation

The future of Tamil Schools has often been a topic of debate among the Indian community of Malaysia, especially among those who speak the language. On 11th September 2007 at Bangunan PGRM, EWRF and the Tamil Foundation met with officials from the Youth Division of Party Gerakan, which is currently headed by Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture & Agro-Based Industry, Datuk Mah Siew Kong. EWRF was represented by Mr SP Pathi, Ms Subita Nair, Mr Kalaiarasan and Mr Rajalingam. The Tamil foundation on the other hand was represented by Mr Uthaya Surian, Mr Arumugam, Mr Kathiah and Mr Ragavan. Many issues surrounding Tamil Schools were raised during the discussion; infrastructure, relocation, educational resources, student welfare and the upkeep of the schools in future. The open discussion was a good way for EWRF to get new insights that may prove important for the upgrading of the foundation’s services towards Tamil Schools. Datuk Mah was also very encouraging as he gave constructive views on this matter. All those present for the session also had the pleasure of hearing from Datuk N Siva Subramaniam, who is a commissioner with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).