New Indian party a boost for BN?

Since late 2007, the phrase makkal sakti or people power in Tamil, has reverberated nationwide culminating in a massive shift in the Indian community's vote from Barisan Nasional.

Popularised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) as a rallying cry for the disenfranchised portions of the Indian community, it later was borrowed liberally as an opposition slogan.

Now, BN looks set on borrowing a bit of makkal sakti magic by means of the newly formed Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party (MMSP), led by former Hindraf coordinator RS Thanenthiran ( right ).

Come Oct 10, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will be launching the new party, helmed by his former arch-critic.

This is the first time a BN chairperson is launching a party, let alone a party outside the BN, but Thanenthiran insisted that MMSP was independent from the BN.

Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng disagreed with this notion because Najib's appearance at the launch was a direct sanctioning of the MMSP, he noted.

"If he is going to launch a non-political association or NGO, it is different. This is political party and Najib as the BN chair by being there grants an unspoken endorsement of the participation or support of MMSP in BN," he said.

What's in it for Najib?

Khoo believed that Najib was endorsing MMSP because Umno was losing its patience with the MIC's ability to win back support from the Indian community.

"He recognises that there is not enough time to win back the support from the Indian community, so he has to cast a wider net," said Khoo.

Political observer and author R Mutharasu opined that Najib was trying to show his commitment to address the woes of the Indian community by engaging groups outside the BN.

"But does he have the same determination to admit these groups into the BN? BN seems to be interested in creating pockets of Indian political forces which supports BN but is kept outside.

"If only these parties are admitted into the coalition will they become strong. Otherwise, they will be a spent force and die a natural death," he said.

Ibrahim Suffian ( right ), director of independent pollster Merdeka Centre, said Najib's gambit may be the result of MIC's failure to generate confidence among the Indian community, despite the recent party elections.

"Perhaps this strategy is meant to stem the flow of Indian votes to the opposition. If it means diluting the vote (in a three-corner fight), then so be it.

"Perhaps the PM patience with MIC is at an end. They (BN) have to develop their own solution, partly by endorsing the new party. With a name like makkal sakti, hopefully they can gain support from this cache (makkal sakti supporters)," he said.

But will it work?

All three political observers were skeptical if MMSP would bring any benefit to the BN.

Khoo thought any effect would be minute at the best, because MMSP does not offer solutions to the core problems faced by the Indian community.

Mutharasu believed that the Hindraf supporters, who are mostly staunch opponents of the BN, would believe that MMSP is a BN tool.

"I doubt they can make an impact. The Indian community only recognises the five Hindraf leaders who were jailed under the Internal Security Act, which is seen as a major sacrifice.

"Thanenthiran is not among them. So the Indian community will not look at this as a replica of Hindraf or a follow up to that movement," said Mutharasu.

On a more practical note, Ibrahim said MMSP as a party ‘outside' BN can only come into play if it stood for elections as an independent to dilute the opposition party's votes from the Indian community.

What about MIC?

Nevertheless, Ibrahim believed that Najib does not plan to use the MMSP as a replacement for MIC because the latter has long roots in the coalition.

"Casting MIC aside will cause serious internal dynamics within the coalition. But (ties with MMSP) will be a strong signal for MIC to shape up," said Ibrahim.

But for now, a head on collision between MIC and MMSP appears imminent.

Yesterday, MIC Youth secretary C Shivarraaj in a statement lambasted Thanenthiran's claim that Najib was looking for a replacement of the MIC.

"Thanenthiran used to oppose the BN government and is not qualified nor does he have the right to comment on BN components," he said.

He said that only MIC could resolve the Indian community's woes because it has a 63-year-old history and was in a process of reforming itself.

He added that Thanenthiran on the other hand was an opportunist who made a name for himself over the past two years following the peak of the Hindraf movement in the late 2007.