INDIAN voters will not ditch Pakatan Harapan in the next general election, although there were disappointments with the short-lived government, said Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy.

According to Ramasamy, Indian voters realised that PH would still carry the people’s aspirations and reforms.

“I think Indians will come in large numbers to vote for PH in GE15,” the Penang DAP deputy chairman told The Malaysian Insight.

He said Indians were also frustrated with the way the PH government ended after just 22 months and will continue to back the coalition for another chance govern.

“When PH won, people felt that they had a “people’s government” and there were rising expectations.

“However, there were the manifesto promises that could not be translated (into action) within a few months because they took time to implement.

“Having said that, Barisan Nasional could not do things over 60 years, so I think it is not fair to judge the PH government’s mere 22 months in charge,” Ramasamy said, adding if the PH government had not been rocked by the underhanded deals of Bersatu and Mohamed Azmin Ali’s rebel group of MPs, it could have delivered much more.

A Merdeka Centre survey after the 14th general election showed about 70 to 75% of Indians voted for PH.

This swing resulted in Barisan Nasional’s MIC suffering humiliating defeats, winning only two of its nine contested parliamentary seats and three state seats from 18.

To add insult to injury, the Election Court declared MIC candidate Sivarraajh Chandran’s victory in Cameron Highlands null and void after proof of corrupt practices during the election.

Umno contested against MIC in the subsequent by-election and won.

Now, MIC’s only parliamentarian is M. Saravanan, who is also deputy party president and the human resources minister under the PN-led government.

Following its unexpected return to the government through PN, MIC has now expressed renewed confidence in being able to win back the Indian support.

Deal clinchers

The fight is now on between DAP and MIC to secure the Indian vote for GE15.

Ramasamy said that, although Indians are a minority in the country, they could be king makers in 62 federal seats, mainly in Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Negri Sembilan and Johor.

He said these constituencies have varying strengths related to the percentage of Indian voters, which he broke down into four categories.

The first category, he said, is constituencies with 21-26% Indian voters.

The second category consists of 15-20% Indian voters, with the third and fourth categories 10-14% and 9% or less, respectively.

Ramasamy said that with choices narrowing, Indians are most likely turn their backs on Malay-Muslim majority government and opt for a more multiracial choice.

He said the current PN government was very much Malay-Muslim centric and would struggle to convince the 40% of non-Malay voters.

“What we have now is a Malay-Muslim dominated government under PN, where 40% of the population do not have a political representation.

“What kind of government is this?

“So, what other alternatives do they have? Don’t tell me Indians are going to vote for PN or Umno or PAS.

“Given the choice, I think they are willing to forgive PH and stick with ‘the devil they know’,” he said. – April 18, 2021.