MIC says it has the support of over one million Indians

KUALA LUMPUR: The support of the Indian community for MIC is expected to reach 65% on average in GE14, based on a study by Jalinan Rakyat.

MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam said the study was based on feedback from more than 800,000 Indian voters nationwide through numerous programmes specially organised for the community.

"In GE13, only 48 to 55% of Indians supported MIC. In this general election, the support level is higher compared to five years ago.

"However, the percentage of support varies by area, with some areas recording only 50% support and others as high as 80%. But on average, we are confident of getting 65% support, which translates to about 1.1 million voters," he told reporters here Wednesday (April 18).

In GE13, MIC won only four of the nine parliamentary seats it contested, namely Cameron Highlands, Segamat, Tapah and Hulu Selangor and five out of 18 state seats.

On the likelihood of an Indian tsunami come GE14, Dr Subramaniam said, "I would not classify it as an Indian tsunami but I would say that there is more support towards the MIC by the Indians".

The Indian community, he said, had seen and were looking at MIC's capability and ability to work together with government agencies in improving the socio-economic status of the people, particularly those in the low-income group (B40).

Earlier, Dr Subramaniam launched MIC's manifesto, which encompassed four main thrusts and 22 pledges to boost the socio-economic status of the Indian community. – Bernama