The margin of a DAP win in Kuala Kubu Baru (KKB) is crucial for Anwar Ibrahim’s Unity Government (UG) to gauge if policy initiatives need to be overhauled, tweaked or done away with.
This by election results will be a bell weather for both Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
A loss for PH will mean the Madani Administration is completely off the track.
But the biggest irony on Saturday’s KKB by elections is that the king makers will be the Indian voters, long neglected, but comprising 17.9 % of the constituency.
While most of the Malay vote bank of 49.3 % is expected to go to PN, the Chinese votes, with 43.7 % are said to be split.
For the UG to win, it all boils down to how the Indian voters will react to recent missteps by Anwar and how the community responds to calls to the boycott the by elections by former Penang Deputy Chief Minister Dr P Ramasamy.
The Infantile Jealousy Remark
Last week, the prime minister, in a programme broadcasted on local television stations, while assuring the Indians community of help, took three steps back by accusing them of being “angry and jealous” at programmes targeted to uplift Bumiputeras and the Malay community.
One wonders about the depth, education and sheer ignorance of Anwar’s Indian ‘advisers’ when they gave him the script.
Former politicians and social commentators refuted Anwar’s statement that the Indian community was not upset and jealous of the government’s assistance for the Bumiputera.
Dr Ramasamy, also responded indirectly to the statement, recalling some earlier instances “that had hurt the Indian community when the prime minister used the ‘K’ word during a speech at a function.
Bur Anwar quickly doubled down saying he ‘borrowed’ the word from book and “did not intend to hurt the feelings of Indian Malaysians.”
One commentator in an article, reminded Anwar on how he had diligently “courted the support of the Indian community and positioned himself as a saviour who would finally address the grievances of the Indians.”
But after getting what he wanted, left them with no solid plans to dig themselves out of the neglect they have fallen into.
A Must Win for DAP
The DAP, which has come under some harsh criticisms for being silent on many issues that have affected the Chinese community, has to win the KKB by elections to better leverage itself within the UG coalition.
The party has been accused of being an “MCA 2.0” meaning it is merely rubber stamping unbalanced policies and being obsequious to excessive demands by some Umno elements within the UG.
A win for the DAP will send two important signals to the Madani Administration.
The first is that the DAP is truly a multiracial party and that its candidates, past and present, reflect this ideal that no one will be left behind.
The second message, and most important, is that Anwar should stop taking the DAP for granted or expecting them to keep silent on all matters.
Since the Indian community in KKB will be a push factor for Pakatan Harapan, the DAP has to be much more vocal in its support for their needs in the remaining days of the campaign.
A loss for the DAP candidate Pang Sock Tao, however small a margin, is a reflection of the failure on the part of the entire PH governance.
A call to boycott the KKB elections is equally infantile and foolish as describing the Indian community as ‘jealous.’
Dr. D. Ananda is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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