Will the Indian Muslim wish come true?

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Jan 4, 2013

Since the inception of Malaysia, the Indian Muslim community has been in search of an identity that will associate it with BN and the Malay-Muslim community.

Ali Cordoba, FMT

The rumour mill is spinning fast in Kuala Lumpur, with the business circle among the Indian Muslim community gearing for a massive Barisan Nasional victory in an apparent late January polls.

Will this 13th general election be the one that will grant the Indian Muslims, lost in Malaysia’s political doldrums, their silent wishes?

These rumours, which are spreading like wild fires in Masjid India, for example, put the Indian Muslim community in perspective while several of the community leaders are said to be campaigning in favour of BN.

Pro-BN banners are seen along the overcrowded Masjid India street. Some of the leading business outlets in the area have showed their preference for BN, with large banners erected on some buildings.

Since the inception of Malaysia, the Indian Muslim community has been in search of an identity that would associate it with BN and the Malay-Muslim community.

The formation of the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) in the mid-1970s – a group to represent the Indian Muslims in the political scene – had little impact in the community’s quest for recognition.

A recent flurry of activities by Kimma and its very recent association with BN did not altogether help the cause of the Indian Muslims.

Although left in the lurch, a majority of the community would probably stick to the rule of supporting BN in order to maintain the favours and prevent a backlash against its businesses.

With Kimma unable to press BN for the granting of the “Bumiputera” status to the Indian Muslims, the latter group is said to have fallen in a dilemma.

From an Umno-BN point of view, not granting the demands of Kimma and sidelining the Indian Muslims as “others” in the Muslim community actually secures their blind support for the ruling coalition.

The ruling government is aware that Kimma would never abandon BN or force the Indian Muslims to vote for Pakatan Rakyat. They would have too much to lose if they dropped BN for Pakatan at the last moment, thus the delaying tactics in the “talks” between Umno and Kimma on the fate of the “Mamak”.