Come next general election, Indian voters must continue to march on with Pakatan Rakyat to bring about A Better Malaysia for ALL.

Speech by M Kula SEgaran, DAP National Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat at Indian Issues Forum organized by DAP Penang Lintang Delima Branch at Penang Chinese Town Hall on Sunday, June 10, 2012

Come next general election, Indian voters must continue to march on with Pakatan Rakyat to bring about A Better Malaysia for ALL.

The next general election is going to be the most important in the nation’s history. 

Its significance lies in the fact that it will be the first election in the nation’s history whereby the Opposition will be seen as having a serious chance to take over Federal manpower from BN. 

In all previous elections, nobody would give a serious thought on the possibility of a new Federal government as BN was simply too formidable. 

In fact, even to smash BN’s traditional two thirds parliamentary majority was thought to be an impossible task. 

But the 2008 general election has caused sea change in Malaysia’s politics. 

Today, Opposition forms the state governments in Penang, Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor and BN is without its traditional two thirds parliamentary majority. 

For the last few months, MCA President Datuk Chua Soi Lek has been asking who will be the Pakatan Rakyat Prime Minister.

This shows Chua himself believes that BN may lose Federal power in the next general election. 

4 days ago, the Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin said that BN is facing a life and death battle in the next election. 

This shows too that Muhyiddin does not rule out Pakatan Rakyat’s chances of winning the Federal power.

As the next general election approaches, the Indian community will once again have to decide what direction they should move.

Indians do not form majority of the voters in any constituency and as such in all previous elections prior to 2008 general election, they were not able to influence the electoral result in many constituencies. 

But the changed political scenario pre 2008 general election provided them the opportunity and challenge  of  a Kingmaker role .

The Indian voters courageously took up the challenge and helped create the political tsunami that dealt BN its worst ever electoral debacle.  

Should the Indians continue to march on with Pakatan Rakyat in the next general election? 

The answer is a big YES.

MIC and BN have tried hard to woo the Indian support but they have not done enough for what they have failed to do for the last over 50 years. 

Today, many long standing issues and problems, be they economic, education and social, faced by the Indian community remain unresolved. 

Last month, , MIC president Datuk Palanivel announced that officials in Putrajaya will huddle with a team of professionals to formulate a comprehensive plan aimed at “rescuing” the country’s Indian poor.

The initiative is expected to be finalised during a roundtable conference to be chaired by Datuk Seri Najib Razak, which is expected to be called by July.

Palanivel said the government could not take its Indian support for granted, despite reports that the community has begun returning to BN’s fold.

Is not Palanivel admitting that BN has not done enough for the Indian community?

What the Indians need most is fairness, justice and actions. Yet Palanivel is still talking about holding Conference and 10 year road map.

The Indians cannot rely on MIC or BN for a better future. Their hope for a better future lies with Pakatan Rakyat. 

Hence, Indians must not retreat at the next general election. 

Come next general election, Indian voters must continue to march on with Pakatan Rakyat to bring about A Better Malaysia for ALL.