Indian voters in Penang: A political reckoning for PM Anwar’s Madani government
P Ramasamy
RSN Rayer, the DAP MP for Jelutong, recently urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to address the growing discontent within the Indian community in Penang.
His plea underscores a broader concern that Indian voters—who make up approximately 12% of the state’s electorate—could significantly impact both state and national elections.
Despite Indian support for Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the Kuala Kubu Bharu by-election, this was under conditions of low voter turnout.
The subsequent Sungai Bakap by-election, however, sent a clearer message: Indian voters not only turned out in lower numbers but also shifted away from PH, reflecting their dissatisfaction with the administration.
One glaring issue is the unfulfilled RM75 million housing allocation for estate
workers in the Kuala Kubu Baru state constituency in Selangor. This has fueled frustration among Indian voters, who feel increasingly sidelined by Anwar’s government.
Rayer’s failure to acknowledge the electoral setbacks of Sungai Bakap suggests an attempt to downplay the depth of Indian disenchantment.
The 2023 state elections further illustrate this shift. Indian support for PH reportedly fell from over 80% in the 2022 general election to around 45%, with no signs of recovery.
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional (PN) is aggressively courting Indian voters in Penang, sensing an opportunity to either capture the state or deny PH a two-thirds majority.
The Sungai Bakap by-election has already demonstrated that Indian voters are willing to protest against PH if their grievances remain unaddressed.
Rayer’s appeal to Anwar appears less about securing long-term reforms for the Indian community and more about safeguarding his own political future.
His reference to Anwar as a “Gandhi-Mandela” figure ignores the prime minister’s lack of meaningful engagement with Indian concerns.
Instead, Anwar has prioritized international diplomacy, focusing on issues like Palestine while neglecting pressing local matters.
His occasional performances to Tamil songs before elections may no longer be enough to regain Indian trust.
If PH fails to take decisive action—particularly in allocating resources to uplift the Indian community—the erosion of Indian support will continue.
Rayer and other Indian leaders within PH must acknowledge that symbolic gestures are insufficient. Without substantive policy changes, the community’s drift towards PN could reshape the political landscape of Penang and beyond.
P. Ramasamy
Former professor of political economy at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and former deputy chief minister of Penang.
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They did not use the magic word, "poor, sufferig and marginalised" so Anwar won't do anything. Why should Anwar do aything for the Tamils when the Tamils themselves won't do anything for themselves? They terrorise ech other, violate each other, join the Americans and other foreigners in destabilizig the Malaysians government and the Malaysian nation.
Ambiga the moroinc individual who created Bersih and brought down a legitmately elected government that just did not happen to be another Chinese dominated group of racist anti democratic chuvanistic thugs is an example of the point.
Tamils could very well lynch Ambiga and send a clear message to their own communities in Malaysia about betrayal ad self service at their expense. Till then they are nothing but a bunch of loud mouthed caste driven loosers.