MIC, one of three parties left in the once impregnable BN, believes that Indian voters in Sungai Kandis will cast their ballots for the coalition in the upcoming by-election.
According to Selangor MIC Youth chief S Kajendran, Indian voters are disappointed with the Pakatan Harapan government on several issues.
Among others, he said, Indian voters are upset with the coalition's failure to deliver on certain promises.
“The ministers (human resources) M Kulasegaran, (multimedia and communication) Gobind Singh, (water, land and natural resources) Dr Xavier Jeyakumar and (minister in the Prime Minister's Department) P Waythamoorty rarely answer questions on the 100-day promises.
"The failure to extradite Zakir Naik has also enraged the Indian community. Many agree that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is no different from when he was in BN,” he told Malaysiakini.
Kajendran said there are those who believe it is still premature to make a conclusion about the Harapan government.
“There are also those who accuse BN leaders of deliberately churning out negative propaganda towards Harapan. However, the reality on the ground is that the people are disappointed,” he said.
For example, Kajendran said voters in Kota Raja were expecting the Kota Kemuning toll plaza to be abolished if Harapan formed the federal government.
“This did not happen. The same with petrol prices.
“These are some of the issues which have left Sg Kandis voters, especially those from the Indian community, disappointed,” he added.
Though predicting a slide in support for Harapan, Kajendran, however, conceded that it would be a tall order for BN to win the state seat.
“In GE14, Indian support for Sg Kandis was around 75 percent for Harapan. This time, I am predicting a 50-50 battle,” he said.
In the Aug 4 by-election, Harapan's Zawawi Ahmad Mughni will face BN's Lokman Noor Adam and independent candidate Murthi Krishnasamy.
The Sungai Kandis state seat fell vacant after the death of assemblyperson Mat Shuhaimi Shafie on July 2 from lymphoma.
He won the Sungai Kandis seat with a 12,480-vote majority in GE14.
Indian voters form 16 percent of the 50,800-strong electorate. Malay voters stand at 72 percent and Chinese 12 percent. - Mkini
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