OPPOSITION politicians of Indian descent are held in high esteem by Indian youth and urbanites, which can prevent Barisan Nasional from regaining the community’s “nambikei” (trust) in the 14th general election, said analysts.
They noted that there is excitement surrounding the Najib administration’s policies targeted at the Indian community, including the Malaysian Indian Blueprint (MIB), but pointed out that Indian MPs in PKR and DAP were viewed as champions of the community.
So the big question is this: will the opposition’s popular personalities trump the feel-good policies unveiled by the BN government to win over the Indians?
A few analysts believe that 60% to 65% of the 1.1 million Indian voters will likely vote the same they did in the GE13 – for the DAP and PKR.
But others are convinced that based on trends in GE13 and GE12 in 2008, the Indian vote is gradually returning to BN and it could gain between 45% and 50% of the community’s support in this election.
What will make the difference, said Prof Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), will be whether BN can successfully distinguish its service to the community from PH.
“Urban, middle class and young Indians may still support the opposition. A lot of what the BN has done is targeted towards the B40 group,” said Sivamurugan.
‘Cool’ opposition
Dr Anantha Raman Govindasamy of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) believes that up to 65% of Indian voters will likely vote for PH.
The reasons for this trend include the trust issues that many Indians had with BN and a popular culture among Indian youths of voting for PH.
“For Indian youth, it’s actually ‘cool’ to vote for parties in the opposition,” said Anantha, who is senior lecturer in politics at UMS’ liberal studies cluster.
Elected Indian representatives from DAP and PKR are also seen to have performed well, he said.
About 99.5% of nearly one million Indian voters reside in nine states in West Malaysia, namely Kedah, Perak, Penang, Selangor, the Kuala Lumpur Federal Territory, Negri Sembilan, Malacca, Pahang and Johor.
They form 10% of the voting population in 70 parliamentary seats, while in 11 seats, they comprise more than 20%.
Anantha said that 60% of Indians can be classified as working class or poor, while 30% are categorised as middle class. The remaining 10% are those living in plantations.
In the national polls five years ago, the MIC won only three – Tapah, Segamat and Hulu Selangor – out of nine parliamentary seats it contested.
It also only won five state seats, one each in Malacca and Negri Sembilan, and three in Johor.
Father to the Indians
MIC’s poor performance in GE13 led to questions over whether the party can claim to champion the community.
In comparison, PKR, PSM and DAP have 10 Indian parliamentarians, while DAP has 11 Indian state lawmakers in Negri Sembilan, Perak and Penang.
MIC and BN are banking on the Malaysian Indian Blueprint and Najib administration’s initiatives to win back the community’s support.
The MIB is aimed at uplifting the community’s poorest members while Najib has started a raft of schemes to aid Tamil schools and upgrade Hindu temples.
Najib has repeatedly used the term “nambikei” to brand BN’s outreach to the community. MIC leaders have even dubbed him the ‘father of Indian development’.
While Sivamurugan does not discount the opposition’s popularity among Indian voters, he said the MIB would have the most impact on the community’s working class members.
The positive response from the MIB is expected to come from this segment of the community, which Anantha said make up 60% of its members.
The Najib administration’s outreach to the community that began when he took over in 2009 and its various policies has improved the BN’s standing.
“In the 2008 election we saw that Indian support for BN was as low as 8% in some areas,” said Sivamurugan.
In GE13, support towards the BN had increased to a national average of 43%, he said.
“If going by this trend, we could see support increasing to between 45% to 50% in GE14.”
MIC information chief Mogan Velayatham had said the party is targeting to get 70% of the Indian vote. – March 24, 2018.
Comments
Pakatan makes the indians feel small. Because of that, even if the indians thought that pakatan was on the good guys, many indians will likely return to the government fold, because of this .
Considering that no one, whether malay, chinese or indianthink that pakatan is that good ( well, maybe not the chinese) , you don't have to be an expert to know that many indians are going to return to government's fold.
The way Najib is massaging the indian community's ego, the indian's will sure feel welcome in the government's arm one la. Najib is not even blaming them for abandoning them in the 2008 and 2013 election. Instead he just heaps praises on us and says how valueable we are and keeps showering us with gift after gift. Whether you are a women or a race, your heart will sure melt one with the way that najib is wooing you - heck, you won't even care if najib is indeed a thief - as far as you are concerned, you will love him as maid marion loved Robin hood.
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