Why only one Indian minister in Cabinet?

PETALING JAYA: The lack of Indian representation in the new government remains a talking point with political analysts saying that the community must be empowered further.

They pointed out that preliminary analysis of the results of the 15th General Election (GE15) showed that 83% of Indians voted for Pakatan Harapan.

But the new Cabinet line-up featured just one Indian – Human Resources Minister Sivakumar Varatharaju Naidu, who is DAP deputy secretary-general.

“It is high time for Indians to have a greater representation in the Cabinet as it will signal empowerment to the often forgotten lot in the country,” said political pundit Datuk Anbumani Balan.

“During GE15, (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) was the poster boy for Pakatan. The Indian community saw this as the best chance for a political change in the country.

“The hope from the Indian community is empowerment of the community through Cabinet appointments in ministries such as education, human resources, economy and youth and not just filling in the list with deputy ministers,” he said when contacted.

Anwar, he said, should have used this opportunity as a platform for Indians in PKR to be empowered, especially when the party itself has almost 45% Indian members.

He cited Sungai Buloh MP Datuk R. Ramanan of PKR, whom he described as a “giant killer” for defeating then health minister Khairy Jamaluddin, as an indication of the community choosing the party over a popular personality.

“The community is loyal to Anwar’s leadership. Thus, they want to see an inclusive Cabinet and not just a case of ‘kawan jaga kawan’ (scratching each other’s back),’’ he said.

Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy stressed that the community wanted their leaders to be awarded government posts as a form of recognition for their contributions.

Thus, he said the Cabinet line-up was a disappointment to them.

If Anwar could award Cabinet positions to those who lost in GE15, “surely he could have provided some recognition for Indian leaders?” he said in a Facebook post.

Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said Anwar should now consider appointing another one or two Indians in the Cabinet to ease the community’s dissatisfaction.

“Some may say that a leader should perform beyond ethnic or religious line, but having more Indian leaders will add value to his Cabinet,” he said.

University of Tasmania Professor of Asian Studies James Chin was more optimistic, saying that Anwar would know how to navigate the situation.

“I won’t worry too much about the appointments because Anwar knows who had voted for PKR, so he will definitely reward them,” he said.

Chin also noted that “all the grumbling and unhappiness is on social media”.

By next week, he believes people would have moved on from this.

Furthermore, he said the people, including the Indians and Chinese, were more concerned about the economy. As such, the focus should be on getting the economy back on track, he added.

However, he said it was interesting to note that the Indian minister came from the DAP quota instead of PKR.