Greetings dear Hulu Selangor voter,

 

Soon you will decide at the ballot box who gets the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat. Should the Indians vote for BN/MIC? Let us consider the following. Firstly, let us be realistic - whether Pakatan or BN wins Hulu Selangor is not going to be transformed into a land of gold and honey, neither will it change the state or federal governments. There is, however, an opportunity for the Indian community to send the right message at the national level.

 

The question is who can provide better and fairer governance while giving you the due respect?

Since this election will determine a parliamentary seat it is also about national issues. An MP's job is to represent you in parliament, not take care of uncollected rubbish and street lamps - what is the purpose then of state assemblypersons and the municipal councils then?

 

There are many instances where MIC did not stand up for your rights in Parliament, they were just not brave enough to confront big brother Umno. For example  what did MIC do in 1988 when they amended article 121(1A) of the federal constitution? This has led to numerous custody, body-snatching and child custody problems.

The subservience by MIC to Umno has reached a state where even the MIC candidate selection  process for Hulu Selangor had seen meddling by Umno. The question is, if MIC cannot even defend their own right to pick a candidate, how can they defend your rights?

The Indians have largely voted for BN from independence until they joined a broad revolt and denied BN its two-thirds majority on March 8, 2008. Though MIC boasts about having 600,000 members, they could not even garner 200,000 of the popular vote. MIC suffered heavy losses but acted like it was only a temporary setback and gave vague promises to reform itself. Are you satisfied with the reforms so far? Have they been able to be brave enough when certain factions within Umno insulted the community ?

Despite incidents that degraded the Indian community like the A Kugan case and the cow-head incident in Shah Alam, the Indians in Bagan Pinang gave BN overwhelming support in the by-election. However after that, we still had incidents like the PM's special assistant saying Indians came here as ‘beggars’ and numerous other statements that either went unpunished or unchallenged. If BN wins in Hulu Selangor, especially under the current circumstances, it is likely that Umno will become even more arrogant.

The talk in the coffe-shops these days is that Indian votes are cheap and easy, just throw them some crumbs and no matter how you treat them, they will keep quiet. The actions by some within Umno recently and MIC's inability to stand up to them shows that this is not merely talk.

MIC talks about rejuvenating with a line-up of young people but the president and many delegates are way past their expiry date. MIC will also point out that some Indians are unhappy with the Selangor Pakatan government. Granted, they are not perfect but you must ask yourself whether any Pakatan leaders made derogatory remarks and treated the Indian community with such disdain as some within BN have?

Is the Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim as arrogant and corrupt as Khir Toyo? The Pakatan government is two years old and promised to help all including Indians. MIC is 60 years old supposedly exclusively there to uphold the right of the Indians but beyond talk, they have not been able to show much results.

 

The MIC/BN  representative P Kamalanathan said this on his blog: ‘The MIC is aware of the grave responsibility such a position entails as is doing and will continue to do all that is needed and that is best to further spur the growth of the Indian society in Malaysia. The party will continue to be the beacon of the community in safeguarding their interests and unearthing opportunities for the community’s social, financial, economic, cultural and academic well being.’

 

Is this not the same thing they have repeated  over the last 12 general elections over half-a- century? Look at the fate of our children today. Have your voices been heard? Do you want this to happen to your grandchildren as well? They may not be as lucky if you continue to succumb to BN.

When you cast your ballot on Sunday, please think carefully about the repercussions of your vote. This is your right as a citizen but this right also comes with a heavy responsibility. I am not from any political party but just an ordinary citizen who wanted to share my opinion with you. Happy voting.