Some opposition political parties are using certain Indian NGOs to do their work of opposing or questioning decisions of the government concerning the Indian community, an MIC source said, adding that the party has devised a strategy to counter this.

The source said that of late, several small Indian NGOs have mushroomed, though not registered, and were being backed “silently and financially” by certain Indian opposition figures, including elected representatives.

“They (the NGOs) are being used to instill hatred among certain sections of the Indian community towards the government and BN while the opposition takes a back seat,” it said.

The source cited the Education Ministry’s ruling to cap to 10 the subjects for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination and said a few people calling themselves “Save the 12 SPM Subjects Committee” have inflamed the issue and created confusion as well as hatred towards the government.

It said the opposition realised that there has been “a change of heart” among the Indian community towards the BN since the last general election after several initiatives announced for them by Prime Minister Najib Razak, including a RM100 million allocation for the edevelopment of Tamil schools.

“There is now a swing to the BN by the Indians and the only way for the opposition to reignite their hatred for the BN was to use these NGOs as decoys or a tool.

“They (the opposition) will feed information to these NGOs and finance their activities, including organising forums and protests in community halls and hotels,” the source said.

MIC-friendly NGOs to be mobilised

It said the MIC has been monitoring the activities and the NGO leaders’ background.

“Some of the NGO leaders are members or hold posts in opposition parties but they do not reveal their identities,” it said.

The source said the MIC was mobilising many of its “friendly” Indian NGOs to counter the opposition’s strategy although he admitted that it was “a bit difficult to identify the rogue NGOs”.

“Meetings will be held behind closed doors with these MIC-friendly NGOs soon,” it said, adding that the move was crucial to maintain Indian support for the BN, especially in the next general election.

- Bernama