In Kuala Kubu Baharu, PN confident of Indian support ahead of polling day

A Perikatan Nasional (PN) spokesman for Indians in Kuala Kubu Baharu is confident that the growing discontent in the community will translate into support for the coalition in tomorrow's by-election.

Suthan Mookaiah said that Indians, who make up 18% of the electorate in Kuala Kubu Baharu, had become increasingly dissatisfied with the government.

He said this was exacerbated after a deputy minister dismissed anyone who criticised the government's handling of Indian welfare issues as mentally unfit.

Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister R Ramanan had said that those accusing Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of marginalising the Indians should have their mental health checked.

Suthan, the Malaysian Indian People's Party information chief, said the statement was reinforced by what many Indian residents perceived as government actions that showed they were considered as less important than the Chinese community. 

"They are even angrier at the fact that the Indian leaders of Pakatan Harapan, especially DAP, never said a word about how a Tamil school only received RM100,000 while Anthony Loke gave RM300,000 to a wealthier Chinese school," Suthan told MalaysiaNow, referring to the DAP secretary-general.

Suthan said such developments had caused the Indians to turn to PN, adding that this had become more evident during the final campaign activities before polling day.

He cited as example a ceramah several days ago targeting the residents of a housing estate which he said had attracted more than 200 Indians.

MIPP previously announced that it would join the PN machinery in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election, where Indians have been seen as the kingmakers as the Malays and Chinese remain largely loyal to PN and PH respectively.

MalaysiaNow had reported growing discontent among the Indian community, raising the question of whether PH would be able to retain the Selangor state seat.

In addition, former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy has been making the rounds in a bid to convince Indian voters not to support PH.

Suthan, who is also the spokesman for PN's Indian Community Committee, said the problems faced by Indian residents in Kuala Kubu Baharu were only about basic issues.

These include problems such as housing, sewerage and "things like getting a hearse for funerals".

He gave an example of how plantation workers in five estates had been waiting for decades for the state government to solve their housing problems.

"But because of the by-election, it was solved within days under pressure from us opposition parties."

He said the Indian community had played an important role in supporting PH and Anwar but that they had been marginalised.

"What is the use of us taking to the streets to support PH leaders if they ignore the economic, social and welfare problems of the people?"