GEORGE TOWN – MIC delegates contesting in the state-level election this weekend are now buoyed by their victory in last week’s Melaka election, where the party captured one seat despite being previously bandied about as a party in decline.
The party won its sole state seat in Gadek when MIC’s P. Shanmugam defeated DAP incumbent G Saminathan with a 559-vote majority, while Bersatu’s Mohd Amir Fitri Muharam was in third place.
Top party and grassroots leaders are of the opinion that MIC’s victory in Melaka is an indication that the Indian community has given its blessings for the party to come back to active politics after losing to Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the last two general elections.
Former MIC chief Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said the Indian community has realised its mistake of abandoning MIC after trusting PH’s empty promises.
“PH failed badly by not keeping its promises to the people. The three major issues were the abolishment of PTPTN loans, and prices for highway tolls and petrol.
“Things worsened when then-prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told the people that election manifestos need not be implemented.
“The Indian community lost 1,500 matriculation seats when Dr Mahathir became the prime minister under PH.”
Dr Subramaniam, who is presently the Kuala Ketil MIC branch chairman, added that more youth are now asking the party to form new branches to serve the community.
“There used to be an interaction, understanding, tolerance, and unity among the Barisan Nasional component party leaders and its grassroots members. It exists until today, but I fail to see a similar relationship among the leaders and members in PH and the Perikatan Nasional leadership.”
MIC central working committee member J. Dhinakaran said only MIC will truly represent the Indian community in the government, and that it will continue its role as the sole Indian representative of the community as it existed before the independence of the nation.
“Our president Tan Sri S. Vigneswaran is the greatest asset of the party now as he is working with the people for the upliftment of the Indian community. The victory in Melaka’s election is the result of his hard work and planning.
“MIC understands the pulse of the Indian community and no other party can play a similar role in understanding the problem of the Indians in this country,” he said.
Dhinakaran, who is contesting in the state party elections on Saturday, said the people have realised the truth and are returning to MIC following political developments in the last two years.
During the 2018 general election, MIC contested nine parliamentary seats, but only retained the Tapah parliamentary seat through Datuk V. Saravanan and the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat through Datuk C. Sivarraajh, as well as three state seats in Johor and Negri Sembilan.
The party lost all the state seats contested in Penang, Kedah, Perak, Melaka, and Pahang. – The Vibes, November 25, 2021
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