MIC To Focus On Delivering Indian Votes To BN From Non-MIC Members - Palanivel

SHAH ALAM, July 1 (Bernama) -- The MIC will intensify efforts to deliver the 140,000 Indian votes outside the party in Selangor to Barisan Nasional (BN) in the coming 13th general election.

Its president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel said the party would concentrate more on securing Indian votes from non-MIC members and believed that the 60,000 party members who had registered as voters in Selangor would remain loyal to BN.

"The important thing is that the party should bring back the 140,000 Indian voters outside MIC in Selangor to support BN and we have already identified 50,000 of them to date.

"MIC leaders and members should maintain a good relationship with these Indian voters," he said in his speech at the launching of the Selangor MIC Youth election machinery, here, Sunday.

Palanivel, who is also Selangor MIC chairman, said the party had identified 14 state seats in Selangor which could be won by BN with the combination of Malay and Indian votes.

He said the party would concentrate more on getting back the Indian votes from constituencies, namely the Kota Raja parliamentary seat and Seri Andalas state seat as there were significant numbers of Indian voters in the two constituencies.

"We have more than 10 per cent Indian voters in these 14 state seats and the largest Indian vote-bank is Kota Raja and Seri Andalas in Klang, comprising 28,000 and 14,000 votes respectively.

On another note, Palanivel said the problem involving 1.6 hectares of land at the Batu Ampat Tamil school in Kampung Jawa, Klang had been settled and an announcement on the matter would be made soon.

The minister in the Prime Minister's Department also said that the Sime Darby Group had indicated to him that it would build decent homes for the Indian community on a 16ha piece of land identified on Carey Island, Kuala Langat.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his speech when launching the national 'Ku Sihat Pemulihan Dalam Komuniti' programme in Kampung Sungai Bumbun, Kuala Langat recently, said that he would discuss the request for a piece of residential land from the Indian community on Carey Island with the Sime Darby Group.