INDIAN voters will make a difference in 62 parliamentary seats in the next general election, especially when there is stiff competition and rivalry among contesting parties in these seats, said P. Ramasamy.

Penang’s deputy chief minister II said the 62 seats are located in Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Johor. 

“In this regard, coalition formation or strengthening before the next general election will be deemed crucial. 

“In constituencies of stiff competition and rivalry, Indian votes might make the actual difference or become the king makers in the next general election.

“It is in the interest of candidates, whether from Pakatan Harapan or Perikatan Nasional to take Indian votes seriously,” the DAP leader said in a statement today. 

He said that these 62 parliamentary constituencies have varying strengths related to the percentage of Indian voters in them, which he broke into four categories.

The first category, he said, consists of constituencies that have a percentage of Indian voters between 21 and 26%. 

Seats under this category include Padang Serai (21%) in Kedah; Batu Kawan (22.76%) in Penang; Ipoh Barat (24.2%), Bagan Datoh (21%) and Sg Siput (21%) in Perak, Rasah (21%) and Port Dickson (22%) in Negri Sembilan, and Kuala Selangor (21%) and Kota Raja (27%) in Selangor. 

The second category consists of 15 to 20% Indian voters in the constituencies, Ramasamy said. 

These constituencies include Merbok (15%) in Kedah; Bagan (15%) in Penang; Batu Gajah (17%), Teluk Intan (18%) in Perak; Cameron Highlands (15%) in Pahang; as well as Klang (17%), Hulu Selangor (16%), Selayang (17%), Subang (15%), Petaling Jaya (19%) and Kuala Langat (16%) in Selangor.

In Kuala Lumpur, Batu (17%) and Lembah Pantai (16%) fit this second category, while Rembau (15%) in Negri Sembilan can be included in this category. 

The third category of distribution of Indian voters is around 10 to 14%. 

They are Sg Petani (12%) and Kulim (13%) in Kedah; Bukit Mertajam (10%) and Bayan Baru (11%) in Penang. 

In Perak, the constituencies are Taiping (13%), Tambun (11%), Beruas (14%), Tapah (14%), Lumut (11%) and Tg Malim (13%). 

In Selangor, the constituencies are Gombak (10%), Hulu Langat (10%), Bangi (11%), Sg Buloh (11%), Shah Alam (12%) and Sepang (14%).

In Negri Sembilan, they are Seremban (13%), Jempol (12%), Tampin (12%), and Alor Gajah (12%) in Malacca.

In Johor, they are Segamat (10%), Pagoh (11%), Tebrau (11.5%), Kulai (10%), Iskander Puteri (12.5%), Pulai (10%) and Pasir Gudang (10%). 

Finally, the fourth category of Indian voters are 9% and less. 

Ramasamy said in the constituencies of Indera Mahkota, Temerloh and Bentong, in Pahang, Indian voter presence hovers around 5 to 9%. 

In Selangor, Ampang and Pandan have registered Indian voters on the average of 6 to 7%. 

In Malacca, Jasin has 9% Indian voters, and Johor, Kluang and Sembrong have Indian voter presence of less than 9%. 

“The four categories of Indian voter presence suggest how they are distributed in the 62 parliamentary constituencies. 

“The voting impact of Indians will of course be determined by the nature of electoral competition, alliances formed, the opportunities offered and others. 

“Any political coalition intending to take power at the federal or state levels must not only pay attention to Malay and Chinese voters but also Indians,” he said. 

Ramasamy said it was wrong to write off Indians as politically insignificant as although they are not numerically significant, they can make a difference in determining the outcome of elections in the country. 

Earlier this month, MIC vice president Sivarraajh Chandran told The Malaysian Insight that Indian voters can be kingmakers in as many as 64 parliamentary seats in the upcoming general election.

He said with three-cornered battles anticipated after Umno’s split from Bersatu and with PAS deciding to go with Perikatan Nasional (PN) for the next general election, Indians votes could be the deal clincher in such seats. – April 13, 2021.