THE Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections are scheduled to take place this Saturday (Sept 9).
The by-elections were called as the result of the death of the Amanah deputy president and federal minister Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub on July 23.
Salahuddin had previously won the parliamentary seat of Pulai and state seat of Simpang Jeram by the majority of 33,000 and 2,399 votes. In the parliamentary contest, Salahuddin won against Barisan Nsuonal’s (BN) Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.
However, this time around, things might be not rosy as before for the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-BN coalition.
Despite its lack of proper base in Johor, Perikatan Nasional (PN) has emerged as a strong contender for both seats as result of the political buoyancy in the recent state elections.
Apart from the in-roads made by the PN in Malay areas, Indian support for PH-BN remains doubtful in the by-elections.
Indians constitute about 12% of the voters in the Pulai parliamentary constituency and 3% in the Simpang Jeram constituency. If the trend of declining Indian support takes place, then PH-BN candidates will be in deep trouble.
Reeling from frustration
As it is, an Indian social activist, Arun Doraisamy, has called for Indians to boycott the elections.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s failure to address Indian-related issues amid the incidents of his personally “bullying” a female Indian student for raising question on the matriculation programme and not the least his role in the conversion of a Hindu youth to Islam have angered the Malaysian Indian community in general.
Since the vast majority of Indians are of the Hindu faith, Anwar’s personal role in the conversion has hurt and humiliated the Hindus in the country. The Hindus least expected Anwar to preside over the conversion.
The sidelining of certain prominent Indian leaders by the PH component political parties have also not gone well with the Indian community.
There are fears that Indians might not turn up to vote as it happened in the recent state elections. Or alternatively, they might cast their vote in favour of PN or independent candidates.
In the Pulai parliamentary constituency, 12% of Indian voters is something that the contestants cannot ignore especially if the electoral competition is tightly fought. How to expect Indians to be kingmakers if the community is only appreciated during times of elections?
Even if Indians turn up to vote for the unity government, the relationship is not the same as before with the unity government.
I expect a low voter turnout among Indians due to neglect and years of frustration and disillusionment with the past governments. The unity government seems no better in so far as Indians are concerned.
Can the community that has contributed so much to the well-being of the nation be faulted for their disappointment with the unity government?
Whether there id s by-elections or not, the unity government must get the message that all is not well on the Indian front. The frustration and disappointment among Indians are going to continue.
No ethnic community can be taken for granted based on their numerical weakness or the lack of economic or financial clout. As they say, every dog has its day! – Sept 5, 2023
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the former DAP state assemblyman for Perai. He is also the former deputy chief minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Pic credits: PAS Johor Facebook
