New Indian parties threaten to fragment vote further, says analyst

 

Analysts say that parties have popped up claiming to represent the Indian vote but may actually do the community more harm than good.

PETALING JAYA: The interests of the Indian community may be further neglected if the formation of new Indian-based political parties fragments the vote, according to political analyst Awang Azman Pawi.

Awang Azman, a professor at Universiti Malaya, said the parties would vie for support from an already small voter pool, as the Indian community makes up only 7% of the country’s population,

“The proliferation of too many Indian parties results in their voices being diluted, which leads to reduced unity (in airing grievances),” he told FMT.

Awang Azman also said many Indian voters cast their ballots for PKR and DAP, as the current trend in politics was towards racial inclusivity and collaboration within a single party.

“It’s more suitable that way because they can ensure their agenda is more achievable due to a larger support base,” he said.

In recent weeks, two new Indian parties have entered the political landscape.

The first was Urimai, founded by former Penang DAP deputy chairman P Ramasamy, who left the party after being dropped from the August state elections.

Ramasamy had said the other existing parties do not address the issues faced by Indians.

On Saturday, the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) was unveiled by former Selangor MIC youth chief P Punithan, who is MIPP president. He cited similar reasons as Ramasamy for establishing the party.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania said the fragmentation of the Indian vote will be a reflection of the Malay vote between Umno, PKR, Amanah, Bersatu and PAS.

“The people from these (new) parties are working under the assumption that the old Indian parties cannot represent the Indians any more,” he said.

“It is all about going out to capture the previous MIC voters or the previous Pakatan Harapan voters.” - FMT