KUALA LUMPUR, April 3 — The ruling coalition will get a bigger majority in Election 2013 and Indian voters will help ensure that, former MIC chief Datuk Seri Samy Vellu has said just as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the dissolution of Parliament this morning.
The former minister added the opposition will not be able to “get near” the Indian voters, saying MIC is confident that Malaysia’s third biggest electorate is behind the ruling coalition despite the setback it suffered in the last polls — where majority of Indian votes flocked to the opposition.
“BN should get a bigger majority this time…this is the first PM to really concentrate on other races…MIC has worked the elections at every angle and all this will strengthen the Indian vote.
“The Indians are very close to BN, they want to forget the past and build a new future and to support the PM and his government. Pakatan (Rakyat) will not be able to get near the Indians,” he told reporters after donating RM10,000 each to the families of police personnel killed in the Sabah conflict.
Samy (picture) also expressed confidence that Najib would adopt the Hindu Rights Action (Hindraf) Blueprint, seen as a key issue to the Indian community, should he be re-elected.
“He should and he will. Najib is a man of his word. He is a person who thinks before he speaks,” he said.
Hindraf was once seen as a potent force within the Indian community. Its massive protest against the BN government under then prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2007 was crucial to the community’s rejection of BN in Election 2008.
The group was later banned but in a strategically-timed move, the Najib administration agreed to lift its ban, although observers noted that will not increase Indian support for BN as the ruling pact already has most of the community’s vote in the bag.
Najib had also met with key Hindraf leaders recently and promised to look into its suggestions on how to tackle “the Indian problem”, firmly noting that the woes facing the community are real issues that must be dealt with.
The move has drawn speculation that Najib had bypassed a weak MIC to court the demographic personally.
Political analysts have pointed out that the return of Indian support was due to Najib’s personal popularity among the community.
Samy denied the party he once led is in shambles and that it does not command Indian respect. He also shrugged off suggestions that Najib’s hands-on approach with the Indians signalled his distrust in MIC’s ability to recapture the community’s support.
“As BN president he can speak to anyone he likes,” he said.
The Malaysian Insider understands that a general election may be held as soon as April 20 or a week later on April 27, depending on the Election Commission’s (EC) arrangements.
The prime minister said he met with the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong this morning and received His Majesty’s consent to dissolve Parliament. It is understood that 11 state assemblies will also be dissolved today and tomorrow to facilitate the general election. The Negri Sembilan state assembly was dissolved automatically on March 27 while Sarawak had its state election in April 2012.
(Source: The Malaysian Insider)
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