Will the Indian Muslim wish come true?

Since the inception of Malaysia, the Indian Muslim community has been in search of an identity that will associate it with BN and the Malay-Muslim community.

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The rumour mill is spinning fast in Kuala Lumpur, with the business circle among the Indian Muslim community gearing for a massive Barisan Nasional victory in an apparent late January polls.

Will this 13th general election be the one that will grant the Indian Muslims, lost in Malaysia’s political doldrums, their silent wishes?

These rumours, which are spreading like wild fires in Masjid India, for example, put the Indian Muslim community in perspective while several of the community leaders are said to be campaigning in favour of BN.

Pro-BN banners are seen along the overcrowded Masjid India street. Some of the leading business outlets in the area have showed their preference for BN, with large banners erected on some buildings.

Since the inception of Malaysia, the Indian Muslim community has been in search of an identity that would associate it with BN and the Malay-Muslim community.

The formation of the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) in the mid-1970s – a group to represent the Indian Muslims in the political scene – had little impact in the community’s quest for recognition.

A recent flurry of activities by Kimma and its very recent association with BN did not altogether help the cause of the Indian Muslims.

Although left in the lurch, a majority of the community would probably stick to the rule of supporting BN in order to maintain the favours and prevent a backlash against its businesses.

With Kimma unable to press BN for the granting of the “Bumiputera” status to the Indian Muslims, the latter group is said to have fallen in a dilemma.

From an Umno-BN point of view, not granting the demands of Kimma and sidelining the Indian Muslims as “others” in the Muslim community actually secures their blind support for the ruling coalition.

The ruling government is aware that Kimma would never abandon BN or force the Indian Muslims to vote for Pakatan Rakyat. They would have too much to lose if they dropped BN for Pakatan at the last moment, thus the delaying tactics in the “talks” between Umno and Kimma on the fate of the “Mamak”.

January polls

It has to be noted that not all in the Indian Muslim community are rich or comfortable and that many of them are struggling in Malaysia.

The fact of not being Bumiputeras puts the community in a certain disadvantage and makes them “second class” citizens in a country that claims to be “Islamic”.

Henceforth, the rumours are circulating in the community that the coming general election would be held in January as it would be difficult to have elections in February, the month when the Chinese community would be celebrating its new year.

An election in the midst of the Chinese New year celebrations would offend the Chinese community, it is said. Thus the need to hold these polls before or after the celebrations.

With February not a probable month for the much-awaited polls, January seems to be the best bet for the Najib Tun Razak government to hold the general election that would decide the country’s future.

However, the rumour mill spun by pro-BN elements in the Kuala Lumpur business circles is telling of an all rosy story in favour of the ruling coalition.

According to these rumours, the government would take back all the states it lost in the 2008 election. Not only that, BN would also win a two-thirds majority, thus regaining full control of the country and of Parliament.

The reason given for this optimistic view on the chances of BN, is that the government is spending too much money for it to lose to Pakatan.

Based on the recent remarks by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, it is apparent the country is heading for an early 2013 election.

Muhyiddin said BN is ready to face its opponents in the upcoming polls. Previous statements by BN leaders indicated the government is not ready for the election and that it has a lot of work to do before it dissolved Parliament.

Nevertheless, the mood in the streets of Kuala Lumpur, among the population in general, is that the money spent by BN would not have any impact on the decision-making process during the election.

Many a times people are heard saying they are willing to take the BR1M money or any other handouts given by BN but that did not mean they would not vote for Pakatan.

As for the Indian Muslim community, realising that it is now too late to get anything from BN that would comfort the community leaders, Kimma would surely throw its support for BN during the upcoming polls. Does that mean the entire community would support BN?

It is known that the community has fractured over the years and so members of the Indian Muslim community are wiser than others and have taken advantage of their positions to get the famous “bin” and “binti” in their names.

While this does not guarantee them the “Bumi” status, it would gain their children a better place in institutions of learning in the future.

It would also guarantee the survival of the family nucleus, in a country where favours from the powers-that-be could be essential to secure jobs, study loans and other facilities.

Ali Cordoba writes extensively on local politics.