THE welfare of the Indian community in the state constituency of Mahkota in Johor has been neglected by the government and ruling parties, said Urimai chairman P. Ramasamy today. 

He said there were many unresolved issues involving the Indian community in the constituency, which is set to see a by-election on Sept 28. 

Among them are a Hindu temple on the verge of being demolished, a Tamil school that has yet to be built on land given some years back, and the lack of places for funeral rights. 

Ramasamy also said another Hindu temple was demolished last year by local authorities. 

“The Urimai team had the opportunity to interact with Indians in Kluang recently. We were shocked by the fact that pressing issues of the Indian community have not been attended to by the local, state or federal representatives,” he said in a statement today. 

He blamed Pakatan Harapan and MIC politicians for failing to attend to and address the problems faced by the Indian community in Mahkota. 

Mahkota falls under the Kluang parliamentary area, which is held by DAP while MIC had long exerted influence in the state. 

Ramasamy also said his party, which has yet to be registered, might contest as an independent in the by-election. 

“If Urimai’s independent candidate can wean away the majority of the Indian voters, it might pose a problem for the Barisan Nasional candidate to win the election,” said the former Penang deputy chief minister. 

He said the idea was not to win the by-election but to send a strong message to the federal government that Indians are unhappy and disillusioned with the leadership of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. 

The by-election is being held following the death of incumbent Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain from Umno on August 2. 

The Election Commission has set nomination day for September 14 and early voting for September 24. 

According to 2022 data from the Election Commission, the Mahkota state constituency has 65,074 eligible voters, 54.51% of whom are Malays, 34.52% Chinese, 7.72% Indians, and 2.69% others. 

In the March 2022 Johor state election, Sharifah Azizah won the seat with a majority of 5,166 votes. 

Umno has said it would be naming its candidate to contest in the coming by-election. Its ally Pakatan Harapan has opted to give way to Umno. 

Perikatan Nasional is also expected to name its candidate soon. – August 20, 2024.