A former MP has accused PKR vice-president R Ramanan of ignoring the reality that non-Malays are not satisfied with the government’s performance.
Charles Santiago of DAP said Ramanan’s view that the government’s Madani vision had forced Perikatan Nasional to expand its focus towards non-Malay voters was a misdiagnosis, which could lead to the wrong solution being produced as the next general election approaches.
He said the reason PN was reaching out to non-Malay voters was that “PAS and PN can smell Putrajaya now”.
The opposition coalition believed that they could gain the support of 25% to 30% of non-Malay voters, and then win Putrajaya. “They believe they can actually get 30% of Indian support, or even more,” said Santiago, a former MP for Klang.
He described Ramanan’s diagnosis as “actually quite dangerous” because Ramanan was ignoring the fact that the discontent among non-Malays with the government was quite high.
“When you have somebody like this guy telling our leaders that everything is fine, then nothing can happen,” he told FMT.
On Saturday, Ramanan said the Madani government’s emphasis on inclusivity, with no race or group marginalised, was why the likes of PAS were reaching out to the Indian community in particular.
PN has formed a loose opposition coalition involving parties like Urimai and the Malaysian Advancement Party, among others, to boost support in urban and semi-urban areas, especially among non-Malays.
In May, Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli warned that PKR and PH suffered waning support among the non-Malays, with internal research indicating a 38% drop in Indian support and a growing number of Chinese voters no longer intending to cast their ballots in GE16.
Santiago said the government must accept the reality of non-Malay discontent instead of being deluded about their backing, so that action can be taken to regain or shore up the community’s support.
The former Klang MP said the tabling of the 2026 federal budget offered an opportunity to quell dissatisfaction by responding to the complaints of the non-Malays, particularly the Indians, who appear more open to switching support to PN.
“PN has been planning and reaching out to the Indian community over the past one year. Most recently, their entire leadership had a press conference on Mitra (the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit).
“And for the first time, (PAS deputy president) Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man — who always talks about the Muslims and Islam — mentioned how the proposed Urban Renewal Act will also affect the Indians.
“You can see how their narrative is changing and that they’re responding to the community. So I think the budget would be the right avenue to counter this, to show that the agenda of reforming the Indian community is still within the government’s plan,” said Santiago.
