“What have MIC or Umno ever done for you? We need real change for a better future. Never ever vote for them again,” said Anwar to an audience at a ceramah in the predominantly Indian town of Siliau. — Picture by Choo Choy May
PORT DICKSON, Oct 10 — With just hours to go before campaigning ends, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) heavyweights made a vigorous final attempt to overturn what is likely to be a certain victory for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Bagan Pinang state vote.
They kicked off with a ceramah programme at Siliau, a predominantly Indian populated oil palm estate town some 20 km from here. Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was leading the PR charm offensive to court the Indian electorate.
Indians make up quite a significant chunk of the Bagan Pinang population and both BN and, especially PR, have been bidding hard throughout the eight-day campaigning period to pull them into their respective fold.
Up until the 2008 general elections, BN has enjoyed much support from the Bagan Pinang Indian electorate but the failure by both the federal and state government to aid this poverty-stricken community resulted in a vote swing that gave PAS not an electoral victory, but a symbolic one when the party slashed BN’s vote majority by half.
Most of the Indians in Siliau live below the national poverty line.
They make between RM250 and RM600 a month.
They are not given nor can they afford proper health care services.
Public transportation is almost mythical while their children have to walk almost three kilometres to the nearest school.
Politically, these locals have no freedom to express themselves. They are often intimidated by alleged MIC thugs, or their employers. Open confrontations will and have
resulted in sackings, as claimed by a local.
Anwar, fully aware of the poverty that surrounded him, was quick to capitalise on it and blamed the plight of the Indian community here on Umno and BN’s corruption.
“What have MIC or Umno ever done for you? We need real change for a better future. Never ever vote for them again,” said Anwar.
The PKR de facto leader, very much aware of the sensitivity surrounding the issue, accused MIC of being a party full of “yes men” and said they should be held responsible for all the Hindu temple demolitions done under BN’s governance.
“So what did they do when Umno demolished the temples? (Prime Minister Datuk Seri) Najib Razak punya pasal, kuil kasi picah pun tapa (Because of Najib, you can go ahead and demolish them) ,” said Anwar in a Tamil accent which drew laughter from the crowd.
Prior to Anwar, PR heavyweights like PAS Kelantan exco and former vice-president Datuk Husam Musa, Selangor exco Dr. Xavier Jeyakumar all gave speeches blasting MIC as impotent in representing the interest of the Indian community.
“The only option there is for all this to stop is to vote for PR. We have proven this in all states we rule in,” said Anwar in a final message to the Indian voters before they head for the ballot boxes tomorrow.
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