Indian voters to decide BN’s fate in GE13, says MIC sec-gen

MIC sec-gen Datuk S. Murugesan says that the 1.8-million strong Indian community will likely hold the deciding vote over who should form the next government in the coming polls. - Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Malaysia’s 1.8-million strong Indian community will likely hold the deciding vote over who should form the next government in the coming polls, MIC secretary-general Datuk S. Murugesan has said. 

“They will be the game-changers,” he told The Malaysian Insider during a recent interview. 

The youthful leader noted that although the Indian community forms only a small percentage of the country’s voting populace, “their votes are still up for grabs”. 

“The Malays are clearly split in their votes. The Chinese are largely pro-opposition. But the Indians could be the game-changers because they are still up for grabs. 

“The Umno vote won’t run by much, neither will PAS nor DAP so the Indians may be the ones who decide next,” he said. 

In Election 2008, decades of frustrations at being left out of development saw the Indian community flee from BN’s side, adding to the ruling pact’s historical loss of its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority. 

But since then, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been actively courting the community, seen now as the possible game-changer for the coming 13th general election. 

For example, the prime minister had allocated RM100 million to upgrade Tamil schools in Budget 2012, the same amount given to Chinese schools and religious schools. 

Murugesan said the prime minister’s efforts to tackle the Indian vote have not been for naught, adding that it would likely come to fruition in the coming polls. 

“The changes since 2008 have been very gradual and painstaking. But it has been increasing, though in small percentages. 

“It is not a total swing our way but every vote has been earned - because of (MIC president Datuk Seri G) Palanivel’s work and the prime minister,” he said. 

Murugesan said apart from the special RM100 million budget to Tamil schools, Najib’s Bantuan Rakyat 1 Malaysia (BR1M) initiative and the Kedai Rakyat 1 Malaysia (KR1M) has also helped sway the Indian vote in favour of BN. 

“Since Najib came to power, I think he has spent some RM400 million just for the Indian community alone. And they can feel the changes,” he said. 

Murugesan noted that the cash handouts had reached directly into the pockets of Malaysia’s poor, many among whom are from the Indian community. 

During a recent press conference, Palanivel had revealed that at least 30 per cent of Malaysia’s Indians are living hand to mouth. 

“The idea is — if you can assist the bottom 30 per cent (lower income earners), then you can eventually help avoid a lot of problems in the community like crime rate, dropouts, social ills and all those things. 

“If we can tackle it well, then at least you can have the professionals moving up on the ladder and those in the bottom rung moving along with them,” Murugesan said. 

He added that the now rebranded MIC under Palanivel has also moved to change its leadership style by reaching out directly to voters, instead of depending on largesse to woo the Indian community. 

“Our approach has changed. When we hold functions, it is about giving importance to the people and not the leadership. 

“Previously, the trend was to hold large, grand functions to prove a point to the leadership that we have support. Now, we are more people-oriented,” he said. 

But while Murugesan believes that the Indians are returning back to BN’s fold, the MIC leader warned that this support is fragile and could be easily destroyed

He cited the recent uproar over Sri Gading MP Datuk Mohamad Aziz’s call for Datuk Ambiga Sreenavasan to be hanged for treason over her involvment in the Bersih 3.0 rally. 

“We fear that all these things (Indian support) can be lost in a flash by careless statements by some leaders. And it has been happening on and off. That worries us,” he said.

Murugesan pointed out that in the absence of protest from BN’s top leaders against the attacks on Ambiga, many among the Indian community felt sympathy for the former Bar Council president. 

“Whether they agree with Ambiga or not, they see her as a woman, and an Indian, and the argument is simple — if you are against Bersih, why not the other leaders? Why single her out” he said. 

In Election 2008, the MIC had won in six of 16 state seats and just three of the nine parliamentary seats it contested, including Sungai Siput, which has been the party’s traditional stronghold for decades, previously held by its longest serving president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. 

A leadership crisis later ensued in the months after the general election as MIC members staged a revolt to oust Samy Vellu, finally resulting in the end to the latter’s three-decade reign in the party last year. Palanivel, formerly the four-term MP for Hulu Selangor, succeeded him. 

According to Murugesan, the party estimates that with Indian’s returning to BN’s fold, MIC hopes to win in at least seven parliamentary seats in the 13th general election. 

“But there is no short cut to it. We must show voters that we are better at governing, that we are clean and transparent. 

“And for the MIC, we must continue embarking on issues that are close to the hearts of Indians — Tamil schools, university education, equal job opportunities for all,” he said.