The series of harassments and hate speeches against Bersih 2.0
co-chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan, in the framework of Malaysia's
racial politics, may prove to be a recipe for disaster for Barisan
Nasional at the coming polls.
The latest speech targeting Ambiga came yesterday in the form of a call
for her execution, not from right-wing Malay groups linked to UMNO, but
from none other than UMNO's member of parliament Mohamad Aziz.
If anything, Aziz's speech is the strongest proof yet that the attacks
on Ambiga, who shares the chairmanship of the electoral reforms
coalition with Malay poet A Samad Said, have more to do with her race
and religion than the challenge she poses to the government.
This view is also echoed by Samad, who wondered why he had not suffered
the kind of harassments that Ambiga had been subjected to. These include
the 'butt protest' by several UMNO supporters calling themselves army
veterans, and other rowdy protests outside her home.
Will such actions result in yet another protest vote against BN by the Indian electorate?
The potent force
The Indian vote bank, despite its seemingly negligible size, remains a
potent force in Malaysian politics. After all, the euphoria of sympathy
among Malaysian Indians over the persecution of Hindraf following the
group's famous rally in 2007 had translated into votes for Pakatan
Rakyat candidates in 2008.
Then, the outpouring of sympathy for detained Hindraf leader P.
Uthayakumar saw many constituencies with seizable Indian votes being
snatched away from BN.
One such seat, Selangor's Kota Raja parliamentary seat where one-fourth
of voters were Indians, was won by PAS's Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud with a
whopping 20,751 majority. Four years earlier, she was defeated by MIC by
a majority of 8,239 votes.
And one does not need to mention the unceremonious downfall of what was
once hailed as symbol of Indian political power, MIC president S Samy
Vellu, who lost the Sungai Siput seat to socialist Xavier Jeyakumar.
This time around, Ambiga, an Indian and a Hindu, may not be representing
the Indian-Hindu cause. But that does not necessarily mean the attacks
on her are being ignored by the Indian community. It is the kind of
sympathy that is only a natural reaction of any minority communities.
Final nail in coffin?
So will the next polls see Indian votes being cast around the Ambiga factor?
"Go anywhere and talk to any Indian, they will tell you that Ambiga is their new icon," says Teluk Intan MP S Manogaran.
Aziz's speech yesterday may just be the final nail on the coffin as far as Indian support for BN is concerned.
Which explains why MIC president G Palanivel wasted no time in condemning Aziz's death call.
Yet, even while grasping what little chance he has been given to redeem
himself - and thereby BN's image among Indians - Aziz chose to direct
his apology to his BN comrades, not to Ambiga, the woman he had singled
out to be hanged for treason.
Not long ago, many might have thought that the series of government
gestures to the Indian community following the Hindraf episode would
bring their votes back to BN.
Nowadays, with the continuing Ambiga episode, UMNO and its counterparts
may have again delivered to Pakatan Rakyat the bulk of Indian votes on a
golden plate.
-Harakahdaily
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