GEORGE TOWN: Pakatan Rakyat will not capture its holy grail – the federal government – if the coalition continues to lose Indian support in the next general election, a long-serving DAP member warned today.
Pahang deputy chairman J Apalasamy, a DAP member since 1970, warned that Pakatan indeed could well lose its state governments in Selangor, Penang and Kedah if Indians drift away from the coalition.
He warned that Pakatan could also lose its current parliamentary one-thirds strength if the coalition fails to initiate immediate and effective steps to regain the fast-dwindling Indian support.
“Pakatan can ill-afford to lose Indian votes and dream of capturing Putrajaya with just Chinese and Malay votes.
“Without Indian support, Pakatan would suffer severe electoral losses in the next polls, including being dislodged as state governments, let alone capturing Putrajaya,” Apalasamy told FMT.
He warned that Pakatan's task of regaining Indian support would become even more complicated with the inevitable entry of the Human Rights Party (HRP) led by former ISA detainee P Uthayakumar in the next general election.
Based on campaign experiences in recent by-elections in Bagan Pinang and Hulu Selangor, he said that Indian voters were slowly and surely moving away from Pakatan.
According to him, incompetence and inefficiency of Pakatan elected representatives and state governments to address pressing Indian issues have frustrated the community.
Deeply perturbed
Apalasamy noted that the Kampung Buah Pala demolition was a major event that has shaken the Indian community's confidence in Pakatan governance.
He said other major issues were destruction of Ladang Batu Pekaka Hindu cemetery in Kuala Ketil, Kedah, Pakatan states’ indifferent attitude to resolving the landless status of Tamil schools, Hindu temples and cemeteries.
He said Indians were also deeply perturbed by the persistent practice of Indian “mandore” politics ala Barisan Nasional in Pakatan.
Thus, he said the frustrated Indian voters were discarding Pakatan.
Given that BN was the only alternative available, he said Indian voters were seen returning to the coalition fold.
“But truth is, they are not keen to return to BN.
“They are frustrated with Pakatan's performance,” claimed Appalasamy.
But the most frustrating part, he said, was Pakatan's blatant arrogance, ignorance and negligence to check the downslide.
“Many Pakatan leaders seemed to be contented with Chinese and Malay support, and don’t want to acknowledge the importance of Indian votes.
“The Pakatan state governments could actually check the slide by implementing comprehensive policies in the respective states to address and resolve pressing major Indian issues.
“But the problem is that the state governments and Pakatan elected representatives, even those in power, have chosen to turn a blind eye to the issues to safeguard their selfish interests,” said Appalasamy.
He slammed Pakatan Indian elected representatives for failing to champion the Indian cause within the coalition to protect their built-up multi-racial facet.
“To them, Indian issues don’t come into Pakatan multi-racial agenda, unlike Chinese or Malay issues,” he said.
Unwarranted public quarrel
Since the country’s first general election in 1959 until the last one in 2008, Indians were traditionally BN backers.
However, in the 2008 general election, inspired by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), the Indians moved away from BN and voted en bloc against the ruling coalition.
Some election observers noted that the Indian vote swing has contributed to BN's worst electoral showing.
Indian votes helped the Pakatan coalition capture four state governments in Penang, Kedah, Selangor and Perak and deny BN its traditional parliamentary two-thirds majority. (BN recaptured Perak via defections early last year.)
Appalasamy pointed out that Pakatan could even lose all if the coalition continued to underestimate and undermine Indian votes.
He rebuked Pakatan leaders, especially Indian elected representatives, for picking up unwarranted public quarrel and political squabbles with Hindraf/HRP.
If wisdom were to prevail, he said Pakatan should have forged close ties with Hindraf/HRP for a win-win situation.
Instead, he said that Pakatan leaders preferred “to eat the same hands that fed them with Indian votes in the last election”.
“Pakatan leaders are committing political suicide.
“Their continued hostility against Hindraf/HRP will only benefit BN,” he said.
He suggested that Pakatan set up national and state-level Indian bureaus to carry out the Indian agenda within the context of the coalition's multi-racial concept.
“The bureau would collect and provide grassroots feedbacks across the country.
“It can propose policies to Pakatan to resolve Indian issues and win over the community,” said Apalasamy.
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