They may be small in numbers but their votes may have far-reaching affects especially for Keadilan which claims to be a multi-racial party.

The support or rejection of the Indian community after the Indera Kayangan by-election on Saturday will indicate whether Keadilan is perceived as a party that champions Indian rights or otherwise.

Already Barisan Nasional leaders are saying that the 438 Indian voters in Indera Kayangan will vote for their candidate, 58 year-old Oui Ah Lan, who is a retired Chinese school headmistress.

MIC leaders are also insistent that they have interacted with members of the Indian community in the state constituency and are confident of their support for Oui.

Keadilan supreme council member Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, however, begged to differ.

"Many of the Indians have left Perlis to work outstation. Some have gone to neighbouring Kedah and others are in Kuala Lumpur," Xavier told malaysiakini .

He pointed out the registered Indian voters for Indera Kayangan were scattered all over the state. "Despite campaigning very hard, we are not under the illusion that we will garner all the Indian votes unlike MIC leaders who claim they can,"said Xavier.

Kimma support

But echoing MIC's confidence is Kimma, the Malaysian Indian-Muslim Congress, who has pledged its support for BN.

In a Bernama report yesterday, Kimma secretary-general Mohamed Ibrahim said the party has campaigned for Oui and all its 165 members in Indera Kayangan will vote for BN.

Mohamed refuted a Berita Keadilan report which recently reported that more than 1,000 Kimma members have joined the opposition party.

He said only a few members had done that and they included former Kimma Selangor leader Haji Maideen Karim.

According to Ibrahim, Haji Maideen was expelled in 1998 for breach of party discipline. His application for re-entry to the congress has been rejected.

Meanwhile, Xavier also criticised DAP's legal advisor M Manoharan who told Indera Kayangan voters to reject Keadilan candidate Khoo Yang Chong, a former school teacher.

He urged DAP to look within itself to decide exactly where it stood in order to identify their real political agenda and enemy.

"At this juncture, I expect DAP to be a very mature party after having been around for 30 years," said Xavier.

"DAP appears to be fighting the BN's battle. It is not surprising that the people have the impression that DAP my join hands with BN," he added.

Islamic state

The Star yesterday reported that Manoharan had requested Indera Kayangan voters not to choose a Keadilan candidate as their next state assembly representative.

He said voters should stay away from the party as it supported PAS Islamic state stand.

DAP has publicly announced its decision not to support the opposition for fear of being branded a supporter of the Islamic state agenda proposed by PAS, which is currently assisting Keadilan in its campaign.

The 8,000 Indera Kayangan electorate will go to polls on Saturday, after a nine-day campaigning period which started last Thursday, nomination day.

The seat fell vacant following the death of former BN representative Khor Liang Tee last month.