The rallying call by current Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in the run-up to the election was 'Makkal Sakti' or the people's power, which stoked the emotions of Indians who then felt neglected by the BN government, after several key issues confronting them were unresolved.
But BN under the stewardship of new premier Najib Razak has since worked to win back the community.
"Both the PM and his deputy (Muhyiddin Yassin) are seen as being sincere in aiding the community now. Their stance on matters which concern the community is being well received. Overall, I have yet to see anything specific done by the opposition to help the community in the states they rule.
"Their election promises remain as just promises. It must also be noted that the demolition of temples has stopped. But things like assistance to Tamil schools by the respective state government's is not forthcoming as promised.
"On other issues, the people are dissatisfied. Those who supported the opposition at the 2008 election feel more let down than those who just wanted to give them an opportunity," veteran politican M Mahalingam told Bernama.
The Indian community is fragmented into various groups and it has, at least, six political parties to choose from.
They are MIC, People's Progressive Party or PPP (although multiracial, the party is predominantly made up of Indians), Indian Progressive Front (IPF), Malaysian Indian United Party (Miup), the newly-formed Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party and the proposed Human Rights Party (HRP).
Uthaya criticises Pakatan
Of the parties above, only the MIC and PPP are in the BN while IPF, Miup and Makkal Sakti are now all BN-friendly. HRP had earlier openly joined hands with the opposition, but its political allegiance remains questionable.
Yesterday, HRP pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar slammed the opposition pact, saying that its leaders had failed to fulfill their promises made during the last general election in solving problems faced by the Indian poor.He said, after two years that the Pakatan coalition became the government in four states, they still had not understood the real aspirations of the Indian poor.
"We had great hopes in the opposition parties when we urged the Indians to vote overwhelmingly for the Pakatan coalition in the last general election.
"We attribute this to leadership without vision. You (Pakatan leaders) cannot understand the aspirations of the people who voted you in. You played the traditional political game of illusions and promises," he said in a letter to Anwar, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak and Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
Uthayakumar said, although the leaders had complete authority over state land matters, which was the most pressing issue to the Indian poor, yet till today, they had completely ignored this issue in Penang, Kedah and Selangor.
On Sunday, Uthayakumar led a group of 100 HRP supporters to protest outside the headquarters of opposition party PKR.
Dissatisfaction with BN
MIC president S Samy Vellu said the opposition's win at the 2008 election was due to dissatisfaction towards the BN, which was eventually manipulated by the opposition.
"But now, the people are starting to realise that these promises were made just to win votes and not with the intention of helping the community.“Even in states governed by the opposition, they had failed to fulfill their promises... not only that, they have also been accused of being unfair and had failed in looking after the welfare of the community which was guaranteed in their election pledge.
"I feel this would be the best time to seize the support of the Indian community towards the BN. BN has to work hard and retain its status as the conduit of the people and the government.
"We have strong leadership, who are close to the people. In my (years of) service, I have not seen a prime minister who is closer to the rakyat than Najib," said Samy Vellu, who has served as MIC president for over 30 years.
- Bernama
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