I saw the Indians at Kuala Terengganu attending a dinner (organised by MIC?) over the TV. At that time, it was mentioned by the reporter that Deputy PM Najib may attend the dinner.

Looks like he did, and below is extract from NST report:

Datuk Seri Najib Razak last night urged the Indian community not to fall prey to the opposition’s provocative campaigns.

He said although there had been some recent problems affecting the Indians, these problems were not entirely insoluble.

“I am very confident that these problems can be addressed effectively through consultation and discussion,” he said at a dinner with the local Indian community.

The deputy prime minister acknowledged that there had been some dissatisfaction among Indians regarding several sensitive issues, including some that were raised within the Umno set up.

“Umno is a large party and the views of one or two members do not represent our stand as a whole.”

Najib said issues such as the destruction of Hindu temples had been blown out of proportion and exploited by some quarters for their own political benefit.

“Let me assure you of this: we are not the type of government that goes around destroying temples in the country.”

Najib said the government was also constantly in touch with grassroots leaders from the community to solve their problems.

This included the problem of stateless Indians, he said, adding that he had raised this issue in the cabinet.

Najib urged Indians not to be fooled by the opposition’s propaganda, saying that unlike Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Rakyat was a loose coalition that could not even share common objectives.

3 things I would like to refer from his speech:

1. what he means by recent?

2. “including some that were raised within the Umno set up” and “the views of one or two members do not represent our stand as a whole” . I think the action that the party to in response to the one or two members is lacking. Latest incident is when banners saying close down Tamil schools were shown in Melaka during an unreleated protest by UMNO.

3. “we are not the type of government that goes around destroying temples in the country.” This is most laughable. While he may proclaim so, the truth is the opposite. Temples were and are being demolished for various reasons. He should have not said this statement.  He could have reworded it into something more acceptable like ” won’t demolish or relocate temples without proper procedures being followed”. Then, maybe we can consider his statement as possible.

At the same dinner, Sothinathan gave his views:

MIC vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan said a party survey showed that in the March general election, 80 per cent of the Indians had supported Barisan Nasional.

“This time around, we do not see much problems in getting the support of the Indians.

“Things in Kuala Terengganu are far different as compared with the other states, for example during the Permatang Pauh by-election.

“There are no real issues among the Indian voters here,” Sothinathan said at the MIC office, near here.

Sothinathan, who is also MIC co-ordinator for the by-election, said he had been getting positive feedback during meet-the-Indian voters sessions.

“Most of the issues which they have raised are concerning day to day matters. We have pledged to look into their problems and seek solutions.”

One of the main grouses of the Indian community in Kuala Terengganu is difficulty in getting citizenship.

“There was a case of an elderly couple, both in their 70s who have been here for more than 40 years but still have not got their citizenship.“

Other issues include business opportunities, education, housing and employment in the civil service.

Sothinathan said MIC would also help to provide transport to bring back Indian voters working or living outside Kuala Terengganu.

1. Hmm…80% supported BN in the March general elections???

2. 40 years and no citizenship. Indonesian who comes now can be public bus driver holding PR. What an irony.

However, there seems to be a lack of local issues for Indian community, unless they look at national issues affecting the community. Of course, if what Samy Vellu says is right, there are some problems affecting the Indians due to UMNO itself!:

The MIC president also claimed that during his visit to the parliamentary seat of Kuala Terengganu recently to oversee the setting up of MIC’s operations room in preparation for the Jan 17 by-election, many had complained to him that Indian, especially Hindu religious songs and cultures, were allegedly barred from being practiced openly

Whoa! What a blooper! (or is it the truth?)

BTW, The same Star report mentioned that:

While the Chinese voters have been described as the “king-makers” in the Kuala Terengganu by-election, the voice of the 523 registered Indian voters cannot be ignored.

Of this number, 380 live in the area while the rest are working in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.

Most of the Indian voters, at 235, are registered in the Bandar state seat, 188 in Ladang, 80 in Batu Burok and the rest in Wakaf Mempelam.

They are mostly businessmen and professionals, like lawyers.

This is critical as the majority by the previous MPs was only 628. If the Malay votes are split equally, the Chinese and Indians will be the king makers.