Kuala Lumpur: Ahead of general elections in Malaysia, the 950,000-strong ethnic Indian community, mostly Tamils, is being wooed by both the ruling and opposition parties with catchy Tamil songs, pamphlets and online videos. Both sides are vying for the votes of ethnic Indians, which can play a crucial role in as many as 60 of the total 222 parliamentary seats, where the community makes up between 10 per cent to 30 per cent of the voters.
Ethnic Indians make up about 950,000 of the 13.3 million eligible voters for the May 5 general election. The importance of ethnic Indian votes was recently reinforced when Premier Najib Razak admitted their significance and value.
For the first time, brochures have been printed in Tamil language and are being distributed in large numbers by candidates of both Najib's ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, as well as the opposition parties. At least a dozen songs in support of the ruling coalition have been uploaded on YouTube, while the opposition alliance has come up with five, using music from popular Tamil movies, such as 'Kolaveri' and 'Kumki'.
The opposition has also produced a 30-minute drama, Vidyal (Awakening), featuring a wayward youth who ends up in prison, but is eventually reformed on meeting opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. A political scientist at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Sivamurugan Pandian, said ethnic Indians, who had overwhelmingly voted for the opposition in 2008 elections, were expected to support the ruling party this time because of Najib's 'feel good' factor....
01:14 PM, Apr 28, 2013
The Election Commission has differed with the government on the amendment of law with regard to funding of political parties. ...
11:42 AM, Mar 31, 2013
New Delhi: Adopting a combative approach over the controversy on The Associated Journals issue, the Congress on Saturday said it has discharged its "political dharma" and was ready to contest any challenge in any fora for giving loan to support National Herald. Party General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi also launched a hard-hitting attack on Janta Party chief Subramanian Swamy and the BJP for carrying out a "propaganda of lie" and "distorting"...
03:25 AM, Nov 04, 2012
New Delhi: Major political parties on Thursday vehemently opposed any move to bring them under the ambit of the Right to Information Act saying that facilities and subsidised buildings given for their offices do not constitute funding from the government. A Full Bench of the CIC comprising Chief Information Commissioner Satyananda Mishra and information commissioners Annapurna Dixit and M L Sharma was convened to decide on whether political parties should...
09:29 PM, Nov 01, 2012
Bangalore: The agitation against release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu hit Bangalore on Friday with religious leaders, Kanndada film actors, members of Kannada organizations and politicians taking out rallies. The rallies coincided with the visit of a team of central government officials to Cauvery basin areas in the state to assess water availability and the requirements of Karnataka. The two-member team arrived here on Thursday and had talks...
02:21 PM, Oct 05, 2012
New Delhi: Due to 100 per cent tax exemption on their incomes, six major political parties saved Rs 510.02 crore between 2006-09, activists said on Thursday, and demanded these be declared as "public authority" and brought under the RTI Act. Activists said as political parties in the country are indirectly funded by tax payers' money, they should be brought under the Right to Information Act (RTI). The Congress party got...
12:37 AM, Sep 28, 2012
The President has called upon all parties to work together to ensure Parliament functions properly. ...
10:21 PM, Sep 09, 2012
Ghaziabad: The tabling of CAG reports on coal block allocation, power and Delhi airport on Friday prompted erstwhile Team Anna to target the political class once again as it accused all the parties of being together in corruption and benefitting from the "loot" of natural resources. "We have just one question. Prime Minister, please tell us, where should we go to register an FIR on the basis of these reports....
06:29 AM, Aug 18, 2012
Washington: Removed unceremoniously as Railway Minister at the behest of Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, party MP Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday said that most of the political parties in India, particularly the regional ones, have become "feudal" where decisions are taken at the whims and fancies of their leaders. "Sycophancy or 'chamchagiri' is not serving any leader," Trivedi, who is here as part of a Parliamentary delegation, told PTI. "Slowly, slowly...
12:20 PM, Jun 28, 2012
Senior BJP leader LK Advani spoke to former President APJ Abdul Kalam in a bid to convince him to contest the Presidential election. ...
11:55 PM, Jun 18, 2012
Mexico City: The head of Mexico's Federal Electoral Institute, or IFE, said political parties that failed to abide by gender equality rules in selecting candidates for the July general elections would face legal consequences. The National Action Party, or PAN, Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, and the Mexican Green Party informed election officials over the past few days that they would be unable to comply with the gender quotas established...
11:51 AM, Mar 26, 2012
CHENNAI: In a significant move, AIADMK leaders led by former minister C Ponnian took part in a CPI demonstration here on Tuesday, urging the Centre to back the resolutions passed against Sri Lanka. Ponnian said they were participating in the state-wide demo organised by CPI and like-minded mo-vements as per the orders from Amma (AIADMK Chief J Jayalalithaa).Ponnian went on to say that his party would support CPI general secretary...
10:31 AM, Mar 07, 2012
Washington: Forget the struggling economy. There's one US industry, Big Politics, that is looking ahead to a record year in 2012. The US elections will be the most expensive ever, with a total price tag of $6 billion or even more, fueled by millions of dollars in unrestricted donations as Republicans and Democrats vie for control of the White House, Congress and state governments. "It's safe to say that, given...
02:08 AM, Aug 31, 2011
New Delhi There is no consensus yet again on the Lokpal bill. Anna Hazare may rethink his August 16 fast as political parties push back civil society saying Parliament will decide shape of the Lokpal bill. There is no clarity on who will eventually create the final draft of the Lokpal bill. A crucial all-party meeting called by the Prime Minister to end the deadlock proved inconclusive. Parties now say...
07:02 AM, Jul 04, 2011
New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has taken the allegations of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) being tampered with rather seriously. In an attempt to convince the voters about the fool proof nature of these machines, the EC is in the process of testing a new system called the Voter Verifiable Audit Trail System (VVPAT) which will be tested during mock polls that will be conducted in five states including the...
09:34 AM, Jun 22, 2011
On Talking Point, Rajdeep Sardesai asks, 'Can political parties ignore Anna's anti-corruption campaign?' ...
10:25 PM, Apr 06, 2011
Kolkata: All political parties in poll-bound West Bengal will have to follow the guidelines framed by the Election Commission while carrying publicity materials from the party's head office here to other districts, the EC said on Wednesday. "The distribution of publicity materials by political parties will be directly under the control of the State Chief Electoral Officer and the parties will have to follow the guidelines set by the commission,"...
02:50 PM, Mar 10, 2011
One of India's more tech-savvy political parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party, is going all out too woo the citizens of the digital world. In an attempt to make their presence felt across the digital realm, the party has launched a slew of websites including those for prominent party leaders. The BJP is also active on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. And there is also a 'BJP for India' Apple iPhone app....
04:15 PM, Dec 23, 2010
Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily on women's reservation bill. ...
08:29 PM, Mar 14, 2010
Both parties are supporting the bill in its current form. ...
09:27 PM, Mar 08, 2010
