In continuation of my previous post, I'd like to add more of the reasons that contribute to the Indians' here allegiance with gangsterism.
 
Severe needliness, comparable to destitution is an irrefutable factor that pushes our Indian boys to resort to gangsterism. When one is deprived of basic human needs and put in a yoke of adversity, they become desperate. They would come to a point where they are clawing for survival and it is true for many Malaysian Indians here.
 
For example, an Indian teenage lad, who lives in conditions in dearth of needs such as a proper house to go to, live in and to return to, decent, nourishing, timely meals, means to attend school, access to knowledge is easy prey for gang leaders. The languishing teen is highly impressionable due to the desperation and that becomes an ace up a gang's sleeve. Enticed by the promises of enjoying access to more than basic needs, the teen would take an affinity to gangsterism, the repercussions, the right and wrong of it and travesty it brings in both the short and long run, clouded by hunger, the pressing need to be a somebody in the society and to have some sort of identity and recognition, a mutthirai (brand) you can call it.
 
To solve this predicament is no easy task but it should be started by keeping our youth in school and hang on in there until they have a SPM qualification in hand in the least. They can work in the blue collar sector and become semi-skilled subordinates and when enough money, experience get accumulated, they can start a business on their own. Now, I know this is very idealistic and doesn't represent all the situations here. The problem is, tertiary education is big business here and those Indians from rural areas and those who hail from poor families are shoved to the sidelines of higher education. These kids are the ones who are highly susceptible to join gangs.
 
The ones who do get into private colleges would be granted PTPTN loans and when they come out with a diploma in hand, on the other hand, they carry debt. Many private colleges here produce droves of run-off-the-mill graduates and due to this, their market value decreases sharply and unemployment becomes a real problem. With not having an ideal job, or a low paying job, earning not much, coupled by being debtors, when they obtain bank loans to purchase vehicles and properties, a fraction of them will be unable to pay off the loan. Another thing is, our Indians are very kind hearted and when a friend approaches them, saying, "Dei macha, I'm buying a car dude, will you sign up as the guarantor?" And in the spirit of "Yen friend poleh yaaru machan?" (There is no one like my friend) they'll sign up as a guarantor unquestioningly only to have it backfire greatly when the friend fails to pay off the loan, the debt would dawn on our 'kind hearted Indian friend" and if he is unable to pay up, bankruptcy status becomes a foregone conclusion. They get stuck in an impasse, not able to live the life they dreamed of, their determination and resolve, weakened. At this point, they get to the last straw stage. Again, this is where the tendency to join gangs and resort to clandestine activities gets into full swing because they have no way to do a degree programme, have a bank balance, invest and simply come up in life the rightful way.
 
Stateless Indians is another dire strait that makes gangsterism among Indians teem and thrive here. With no proper identity documentation, such lots are left only seeing positive human and nation development, not be part of it. Acquiring an education, getting a job, getting proper healthcare and having a share of the economic pie are wet dreams for these units of society. Being stateless is synonym to being poor, disillusioned and uninformed. These three factors combine and steadily contribute to the rising gangsterism trend here. It won't be incorrect to say that such kids have no one turn to, no one to steer them to the right track. Such youths are left dangling by a volatile and vulnerable thread and gang associates all too easily snatch them to be absorbed into rowdism.
The current government is claiming to grant citizenship to stateless Indians but the overreaching level and the effectiveness of it remains to moot. 
Next, comes racism, both in street level and institutional as well as constitutional level.

 
On street level, Indian young men are generalized to be the bunch who rock the boat and unleash trouble by other races here. This stereotyping leads to the belief that Indians are the dregs of society and are guilty and responsible to every crime that takes place. Good, promising, decent, upright, well scoring in public examinations Indian lads are deemed no different just because of their dark skin colour, of which other races here instantly perceive as unsavoury characters as a whole, which is, of course, highly unfair. On a personal experience, my cousin, who is most innocent got trapped in between an affray of rival gang members. His Kancil was smashed during the tussle and he got arrested along with the brutes and spent a night in lock up. He had nothing to do with the fight whatsoever; he was only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and now he has to live with the shame of being locked up despite having an alibi and no connection to any gang for the rest of his life. It is akin to the case of S. Kuhan who was flogged to death in lock up and the recent cold blooded murder of our fellow Malaysian Indian, D. Dinesh, who had done nothing closely criminal, yet shot dead by our men in blue by misapprehension and maybe even intentionally and so many analagous incidents. See how good Indians get screwed by the ones affiliated with crime and gangs? It is an unfair world, first impression is the one which stereotypes.
 
Part of the skewed perception other races here not to mention the police have on Indians has got to do with a number of how young Indian males carry themselves in public. A prime example would be the inappropriate scenes some of our boys put on for all to see on Thaipusam. I need not elaborate more on that score; it is pure character assasination and with such behaviourism, is it any surprise that other races perceive us as troublemakers and drunkards and criminals and gangsters? A makeover of image, character and conduct is critical to these lots, not to mention enlightenment.
 
And then there is internal racism amongst Indians themselves where sub races like Malayalees, Telugus and Punjabis and Tamilians eye one another with scorn, doubt and in some cases, plain hatred. I'd like to quote Honest Abe here, "A house, divided on its own, can never stand." Enough said. Let's be united as a community because only then we can reach the height of national unity. 
Next up, institutional and constitutional racism which stands as a floodgate that constricts Indians here to peak their potential and make some of them oblique to anarchy and criminal acts. It is common cliche that Indians have the best brains but any brain should be given leeway to grow to become a useful brain and that is what doesn't happen here. Indians here are sidelined from securing seats in public universities despite having the merit, discriminated in civil service employment and basically treated like 2nd class citizens. Those with money would reason, "Why stay in a country that treats me like a pariah when the world welcomes me with open arms?" and pack their bags to overseas. What happens to those who are not as well heeled? A number of them will study whatever course that is offered to them as opposed to the course they originally wanted to pursue and learn to make do with what they have at hand. Others, perhaps by the friendship with the wrong kind of people or simply becoming victims of the situation whereby skeptical nuances of others and bottlenecked opportunities push them far from making life the upright way, would fall foul with law by commiting felony and just get deeper and deeper into the quicksand gangsterism is.
 
Politically, MIC, which blares of championing the cause of Indians here have failed miserably, only successful at lining their own pockets at our expense and kowtowing to UMNO, being in gross dereliction. In actuality, there is a vested interest on MIC part in condoning gangsterism here. Gangsters are used as henchmen to fulfil political agendas. Even more so, MIC short changes Indians here, riding roughshod on the dilemma Indians face, in all the aspects I mentioned above. So much for being a saviour for Malaysian Indians!!
 
Gangsterism is not a problem that can be solved overnight but it can be eradicated if racial prejudice, poverty, and biased governmental policies get out of existence. The abolishment of apartheid like constitutional policies, the granting of level playing field to all Malaysians, the resolving of statelessness status, means to help those communities in adversities to come out from their pitiable state, both in urban and rural areas will help curb gangsterism and other social ills. It will take time but resolution is promising for it is achievable if we put our heart at our effort to arrest this problem and not let it become perennial and inherent.
 
Selamat Hari Kebangsaan folks! May the dawn of our 55th Independence Day see political and statecraft policies reforms, equality for all, true harmony, encompassing prosperity and a better Malaysia and fully MERDEKA!!