Mr Terwander Singh, the new MIED Financial Controller walked into my office on Wednesday morning to discuss the arrangements for the President’s Award programme for students who have secured 7As in UPSR. In the course of the discussion I raised with him my impression of the Punjabi community especially the rapid and radical transformation of the community from being ordinary workers to a community of professionals. I asked where in lies the secret for this change.

The Punjabi community came during the British time like majority of Indian sub-groups in search of a better employment and quality of life. A majority of the Punjabis came to Malaysia came as policemen or served in the army as soldiers. Many also worked as night watchmen. A scene that was often seen about 15 to 20 years ago was the big size guard with a turban and beard with his string bed.

Mr Terwander Singh said that there were two key factors:-

First key factor is that he calls as the ‘langgar concept’ which, means eating together a meal. In the Sikh community all the devotees share a meal together after worship. The meal is a simple meal, which comprises of chappati, dhal, one vegetable dish and a sweet. The symbol of sitting together on the floor and eating is significant which is also the similar posture adopted for worship. In both cases the rich-the poor, professional –the unskilled all eat and worship together. According to Terwander, this aspect breaks the social barriers as well as cuts the ego of human beings. He said, “We are all normal people in the house of God”.

This is a very powerful symbol namely worshipping and eating together. In this process there is an influence upon each other and it stimulates the non-professional to aspire for himself or his child to become a professional.

Religion and the Sikh temples become communal centres which, provided support and motivation for the community to develop and face the modern challenges. According to Terwander temples can play a pivotal role in getting different strata of society together.

The second aspect highlighted by Terwander is sheer hard work and determination of the Sikh community. The Punjabis came from an agricultural background and they have a long history of being farmers. The state of Punjab in India is the green belt of India with a very fertile land for cultivation of crops.

Furthermore this heritage enabled them to rear cows which provided a good source of income as well as a good supply of milk which enabled the Punjabi to be big built and healthy.

On hearing these from Mr Terwander Singh I am impressed with these two contributing factors. Other Indian sub-communities could learn from these experiences and reposition themselves in modern Malaysia.

Mr Terwander Singh (49) is married and has 3 children. Between 1982 to 1997 he worked for FELCRA in the Internal Audit section. He joint TAFE (Seremban) in 1999 and was appointed as the Financial Controller to the MIED from November 1, 2002. He has a wealth of experience in accounting and auditing. He holds ACIS qualifications and is a charted secretary and member of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators.