KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Indian community is receiving much attention from the ruling government ahead of elections to be had before April next year. On Sunday, Prime Minister Najib Razak called on the Indian-Malaysian community to “place its trust” in Barisan Nasional – the ruling party – to ensure an election victory. He said support from the Indian community had waned in the last general election. He said the dip in support was not due to their confidence in Pakatan Rakyat, but the desire for Barisan to transform and be more attentive to their needs. “Over the last four years, Barisan has been paying attention to the Indian community and this has helped win back their trust,” he said when launching the 66th MIC general assembly here Sunday. He cited the RM540mil allocation for Tamil primary schools since 2009 as an example of the Government being more attentive towards the community's needs. Najib, who is also Barisan chairman, warned the Indian community of the empty promises of the Opposition to gain their support in the coming polls. He argued that the opposition was playing up the issue of the alleged 300,000 stateless Indians. He said so far, 9,000 Indians had come forward to register with the National Registration Department for their citizenship, MyKad and birth certificates. “I assure you that the matter will be resolved for those who come forward and are eligible,” he added. In October, leaders also pushed the community to support the government in elections to be held before April next year. A number of reports suggested that the minority community was galvanizing behind the BN. MIC President G Palanivel said the Indian community's support of the government was “increasing significantly as a result of the transformation programs implemented by Prime Minister Najib Razak." Indians were being provided with more business and educational opportunities, he added. “Therefore, the Indian community is urged to continue supporting the Barisan Nasional government as it has proven that it cares for all Malaysians, regardless of race," he said. He was speaking at a Family Day organized by the Temerloh MIC Youth and Women movements, which was also attended by Temerloh member of parliament and Higher Education deputy minister, Saifuddin Abdullah. The Indian vote is being seen as vital in the upcoming election and local analysts have told Bikyamasr.com that the community remains split on who to vote for. The opposition is trying to oust the ruling government for the first time since Malaysia became independent of Britain.
