-Senator S.Ramakrishnan.

The MCA president is frequently reported in the main stream newspapers busy giving out cash handouts to Indian and Chinese temples and its related NGOs like the Hindu society.

 Yesterday it was reported in Tamil papers that Chua Soi Lek had given away RM141,000 to 17 Hindu temples and Hindu societies in Tanjong Malim parliamentary constituency.

Chua was also reported in earlier days, giving out cash handout to Hindu temples, Chinese temples and Indian churches in Labis constituency. It’s heartwarming to see the MCA president handing out cash generously to religious institutions.

But these cash handouts are needed by people who are alienated and marginalised urban squatters and not the religious institutions which will be taken care by providence itself. The MCA president seems to opportunistically use the poverty of rural Indians for his political expediency.

Such handouts will make these rural people dependent on BN. This is a great service of the MCA president to the Indian community.

The Indians have been long marginalised and deprived by the BN government of job opportunities, scholarships, higher education facilities and small business opportunities, of jobs in local councils and government agencies and of inclusive government policies.

These are the urgent needs of the Indians, and not cash handouts to temples. The Indian community needs to recover and regain its political right as citizens of this country which has been steadily eroded by BN with the support of MIC.

By offering cash handouts to Indian temples while simultaneously supporting Umno’s racist policies, is Chua trying to keep Indians under the thumbs of Umno? In offering cash to temples does Chua have the best of intentions for the Indians, or is this one form of bribery to entice Indian votes for MCA?

Looks like Chua is bribing the Indian Gods to secure Indian votes because the Chinese votes are no longer up for sale.

The way the MCA president is disbursing cash is clearly targeted at garnering Indian votes in MCA constituencies. Money handouts by MCA started much earlier than the actual election dates.

Cash and goodies flow all year round for BN parties. Only the Election Commission (EC) is blind to the cash handouts.

It is clearly visible that, after the 2008 elections, Umno has lost confidence in MCA and MIC to secure the Chinese and Indian votes. The prime minister has appointed special officers reporting directly to him to reach out to Chinese and Indian voters with handouts of their own.

Umno operates as though they don’t need any other component parties. They can disburse cash themselves. They don’t need Chua Soi Lek to distribute their cash. But Chua Soi Lek needs to show gullible voters that they are also powerful in BN and they too have cash to distribute.

As the saying goes that some things never change. Umno cannot be reformed therefore it has to be removed. MCA and MIC hangs on to Umno for their own survival and keep bribing and giving false hope to their members that all is well and good.

If MCA and MIC have any pride and dignity for themselves and their party, they should stop bribing voters to vote for Umno. The stakes are high for the MCA president to get his son Chua Tee Yong to be appointed as a minister after the next election.

After all MCA and MIC are all about what is in it for them. That’s what these disbursements of cash are all about. Throw in small fish to catch big fish.