In the hands of the (Indian) voters

Suddenly the long forgotten Indian voters have become the flavour of the day.

MIC, the so-called community’s representative in the BN government, has been trying hard to regain the goodwill of the community after losing its stature following the recent new-found anger in the community over its continued marginalisation.

Just look at the Bernama stories in the past 48 hours (click on them to read):

Hardcore BN Indian Voters Will Not Switch To Opposition - Palanivel

Opposition Taking Advantage Of Situation - Vigneswaran

Samy Vellu To Go On The Air Again Over Indian Community Issues

Samy Vellu Vows To Fight On For Indian Community

There were other stories on the Indian community throughout the week as well. The charm-offensive campaign comes at a time when the party needs to regain its hold on the community.

The community itself, awakened from its slumber by Hindraf, is still angry with the manner the government has been treating it.

What good are mere words when it is not followed up with some concrete actions, they ask rightly.

And they know that they have done something right by backing or giving tacit approval to Hindraf as it has send the right message to the government.

With the general election to be announced within the next six months, the Indian community has never been in such a strong position to play kingmakers.

As mentioned by opposition leader Lim Kit Siang in his blog, the Indian voters can become a tsunami to send a strong message to the government.

The most recent electoral data shows that there are 50 parliamentary and 133 state assembly constituencies where Indian voters comprise more than 10 percent of the electorate and 21 parliamentary and 133 state assembly seats in Peninsular Malaysia where the Indian voters constitute more than 15 percent of the electorate.

[Of course this is much lower than the figures based on the 2004 general election electoral roll - 62 parliamentary seats and 138 state assembly seats where Indian voters comprise more than 10 percent of the electorate and 28 parliamentary and 78 state assembly seats where the Indian voters constitute more than 15 percent.]

Still these numbers are enough to ensure that the Indian voters in these areas can play the role of kingmaker in the electoral outcome.

To do that, the Indian voters should get out of the BN psyche, and do not let the MIC’s charm attacks to defeat them.

Time is running out and it is in the hands of the community to chart their future. The choice is theirs. The momentum has started, it is now up to them to continue it.