MANY in the Indian community in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands are still undecided on who they should vote for in the coming by-election for the parliamentary seat.

Some of them are looking at backing Barisan Nasional’s homegrown Orang Asli candidate Ramli Mohd Noor despite him replacing the traditional MIC candidate for this seat.

However, some are looking at giving Pakatan Harapan candidate M. Manogaran a chance to see what changes he can bring.

Third generation taxi driver Raja Habu, 47, said that he was leaning towards the PH candidate as the new government had brought about some changes since coming to power after GE14, including removing the goods and services tax (GST).

“We are happy with PH for getting rid of GST.

“But all we want is fairness. I do not know who will win here. The voters should know who they want to vote for.

“The uneducated people will follow blindly, but those with Internet access and TV will know who to vote for,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Raja said there are some who favour both sides, depending on their agenda.

“We are not all the same. We will have to choose the right candidate to represent us,” he said.

The by-election will see a four-cornered fight between Manogaran, Ramli and independents Sallehudin Ab Talib and Wong Seng Yee.

Welfare worker Jothy Chellappan, 57, meanwhile said that she is not too keen on PH because they have not fulfilled their promises.

“GST has been abolished, but the sales and service tax is here.

“After the 14th general election, the people are aware of the mistakes they made by not voting for BN.

“Some of those who voted for PH are now going to vote for BN because they are not getting the allocations they used to get any more,” she said.

Jothy believes the Indians will vote for Ramli as he is a local from the Orang Asli community.

“I believe that they will vote for him because they know the candidate and he knows the Indians.

“Ramli’s teacher was an Indian man, so he is aware of the problems with the Indian voters.

“But I know he will help all races, not only the Indians,” she said.

Murugan Rajoo, 46, previously a special officer for former MIC president G. Palanivel – a former Cameron Highlands MP – said that while the federal government might be confident they can win this seat, the deciding votes still lie with the Orang Asli community.

“There is sympathy for Manogaran from a lot of Indians, but my view is that it will be 50/50 depending on the Orang Asli turnout.

“Despite not having the experience, Ramli, a first-time ethnic candidate will have a chance, but it will depend on the Orang Asli and how they are going to vote,” he said.

He said that the Indians are disappointed with the BN-run state government because there are still no grants for temporary occupation licences for the farmers.

“The local council should also build more shops for Indians to do business because it is a tourist spot.

“This is under the purview of the state and they should allocate what they can,” he said.

He also said the federal government should make Cameron Highlands an agricultural hub for tourism and create job opportunities.

However, shopkeeper Pratib, 26, said people will vote for PH because they are not happy with the previous government.

“We want PH for our future. Before this, when the BN MP was here, there were not many positive changes. Prices went up and there were other issues.

“We do not know whether the older generation will vote for PH, but I think the young people will vote for Pakatan,” he said.

“But there are still many voters that are likely to vote for BN,” he said.

Cameron Highlands had always been represented by an ethnic Indian MP from MIC for BN. MIC’s C. Sivarraajh won the seat in GE14 by defeating Manogaran and three others, but his victory was declared illegal by the election court after finding that he had paid money to voters to support him.

He was also suspended from contesting for five years. – January 20, 2019.