Issue 2 : Role of Tamil Community Leaders
Issue 2 : Role of Tamil Community Leaders
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Pre-Panel Discussion
1 . How can the community leaders gain the support of the Youths ?
• There are many Tamil organisations in Singapore that many of us are unaware about . Many are either defunct or cater to a very small and exclusive group of people . Thus , instead of starting new organisations , they must try to rejuvenate and increase awareness about the existing ones .
• They need to work together with the community instead of just leading . They should be inclusive and not miss out on people ’ s views . Unfortunately in the Tamil community today , when there are events , we cannot openly express our views on matters as they will be quickly shot down by the older generation .
• Importantly , community leaders need to be the voice of the Indian community . If the Indians are being brought down the community leaders need to be their voice for these issues . If not , there will be no one to stand up for them .
• Indian Muslims are often confused on who their community representative is . We are sent back and forth between SINDA and MENDAKI . However , we feel that the representation of Indian Muslims in the Parliament is not an issue and is being taken care of .
2 . How should Tamil Community Leaders improve ?
• We need to strike a balance between being in the heart of the core of the community and truly being a Tamilian understanding the people , and at the same time being witty enough to navigate the non-Tamil world especially since we are in a multiracial and multicultural society .
• Tamil community organisations focus mainly on language issues by trying to increase the passion for the language and keeping it alive . However , when the Tamil community prosper , Tamil will prosper as well . Hence other community issues need to be given priority over solely language issues .
• There are too many Tamil and Indian organisations . Some are dormant or defunct . They are a waste of space and resource . Leadership renewal is important in these organisations . A youth deputy can be appointed in all these organisations . Eradicate the dormant organizations . Combine the societies with similar mission and vision . Some organisations are more powerful than others and thus they can become the parent organisation that absorbs the weaker ones under its wing .