Costly loss of Indian votes

The Indian community feeling like marginalised citizens simply cannot go on.

IT’S a rude wakeup call for the Unity Government. Despite being alerted to the importance of the Indian votes, which could determine the outcome of the six state elections, our nation’s administration didn’t take it seriously enough.

One analysis indicated a decline of 21%, 19% and 12% respectively in Indian votes for Pakatan Harapan in Negeri Sembilan, Penang and Selangor.

What has surprised PH is that the Indian votes for Perikatan Nasional shot up by 29%, 19% and 14% respectively in Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.

Ironically, the PKR has a sizeable Indian membership.

In general, there was a 15% drop in Indian votes for PH, with the low turn-out of Indian voters during the Aug 12 state polls described as one of the “absolute worst.”

Former DAP MP Charles Santiago pointed out that there was a “lingering sense that the government was not doing enough” for the Indian community.

The level of anger among the Indian voters was high, he added, and pro-PH groups tried to respond with what the state and federal governments had done but “it was not effective.”

It’s arguable that the anger has not subsided, but instead, probably intensified.

Now, the incident with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim performing the conversion process of an Indian youth at a mosque has also become an issue while a 2020 picture of him sitting next to controversial Indian preacher Zakir Naik has been making its rounds.

Santiago attributed the unhappiness to a series of missteps by politicians and a general sense of hopelessness felt by the community.

The blunders include DAP’s ill-timed decision to drop veteran DAP leader Dr P. Ramasamy used a slur used by PKR’s Najwan Halimi against PRM and its candidate, Sivaranjani Manickam, for the Meru state seat.

The prime minister’s handling of a question by an Indian student on the quota system in education was also another factor.

As an anecdote, a friend of mine from Penang called me on election day morning and said that an Indian customer of his had told him he was not going to vote because “it was a complete waste of time as they are all the same.”

The Indian voter, who was visibly upset, had previously rooted for DAP, but refused to give his vote this time.

I asked a former Indian colleague, who had gone to the cinema to watch the Tamil action thriller, Jailer, starring superstar actor Rajinikanth, if he had voted.

“For what? None of these politicians have bothered about us Indians. They have taken us for granted.

“At least Rajini provided hope to the downtrodden, even if it’s just fictional,” he said.

Political scientist Bridget Welsh had written before the state polls that Indians made up about 10% of voters in about 66% of the seats in Selangor, 56% of the seats in Negeri Sembilan, 55% in Penang and 22% in Kedah.

She indicated that the overall share of Indian voters is 15% in Selangor, 14% in Negeri Sembilan, 11% in Penang and 7% in Kedah, and she reportedly said that “PAS/Perikatan has won over a small share of Indian support.”

“Their gains have been most effective among more economically vulnerable Indian voters,” she wrote, adding that in Penang, for example, PN won about 8% of Indian votes followed by Kedah with 6% during last year’s general election.

In fact, at a closed-door meeting of the Concorde Club before the state polls with local and foreign journalists, Bersatu leader Datuk Seri Azmin Mohamed Ali had shared how he had been working the ground to win over the Indians.

He said he took the Indian votes in Selangor seriously and maintained ties with the voters.

With the Unity Government now already in power for nine months, it must be seen to do more to win over the crucial Indian voters.

PKR MP Datuk Ramanan Ramakrishnan, who heads the Malaysian Indian Community Transformation Unit (Mitra), for example, needs to be empowered further to implement impactful programmes to help the community.

If the government is serious, a mere unit isn’t enough to uplift the interests of the disenfranchised community. It’s not just the Indians but the Orang Asli as well.

For the Indians, the longstanding issues range from employment to education and housing. The community’s sense of hopelessness is genuine and has gone on for way too long.

The Indian electorate’s support for PH has been consistent, especially in the urban areas, but the difference now is that PH is in government.

It’s time that the community’s support is reciprocated and not taken for granted.

Moving forward, politicians need to learn that their actions or inactions will be observed and remembered.

There’s no reason for the federal government to be worried of appointing more Indians to the Cabinet or state executive councillors, or to senior positions in the various ministries.

They are Malaysians, too, and firmly woven into the fabric of our beautifully multiracial nation. Ends