ADUN SPEAKS | Indians need a level playing field, not ‘kingmaker’ label

ADUN SPEAKS | Are Indians in the country only kingmakers during general elections?

Under normal circumstances, the welfare and well-being of the Indian community are hardly given any attention.

As elections approach, Indians are suddenly catapulted into importance. They are called kingmakers, especially in constituencies where they might make difference in terms of winning or losing.

In electoral constituencies where there is a clear divide between Malay and Chinese voters in terms of their political loyalties, Indian voters, even if they are numerically small, may become politically significant.

I estimated recently that Indian voters have the potential to make a difference, in terms of the electoral outcome, in about 60 parliamentary and state constituencies.

In other words, Indian Malaysians have the potential to decide the ultimate winners in those seats.

Respect the community’s contributions

As of now, a majority of Indian voters support the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

Indian membership is about 20 percent in the DAP and about 30 percent in PKR. Taken together, Harapan has more Indian members than MIC, which is supposedly the “mother” party of the Indians.

However, it serves no purpose to refer to Indians as kingmakers when they only receive attention from politicians before the general election.

Indians must be respected and given due recognition all the time as Malaysian citizens - they are not lesser than Malays or Chinese.

Harapan might have not done much for Indians because of the absence of federal power. Its 22-month tenure in Putrajaya was not enough to address the myriad problems faced by the community.

Indians have contributed so much to the well-being and development of the country.

Indians might be kingmakers on the day they cast their votes, but once the elections are over, they are forgotten until the next election - five years later.

The biggest and most fundamental obstacle that stands in the way of developing Indians is the lack of a level playing field.

The lack of a level playing field is caused by the institutionalised racist system, engendered by none other than Umno over the last few decades.

Dishing out a few million ringgit now and then to Indian Malaysians is not going to help them much. Such a practice will only reinforce their dependency on the government.

While Indians look forward to Harapan’s victory in the coming general election, they also want the coalition to dismantle institutionalised racism in the country.

And being kingmakers during elections might not be beneficial to the Indians in the long run.

P RAMASAMY is the Perai assemblyperson and Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

LETTER | 7 reasons why Indians should not vote BN-MIC in GE15

LETTER | Vote wisely in this coming general election

PN will not sideline Indians after GE15 victory - Azmin

Bersatu leader upset at lack of PN Indian candidates in S'gor

NGOs draft 'Indian manifesto' for Harapan