Have you seen the amount of propaganda on mainstream newspapers in the country lately? Wow! Component parties of Barisan Nasional such as MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress) and MCA have gone on an advertising blitz by placing full page ads to tell the Indians and Chinese respectively why they should continue to vote for MIC and MCA. It's a full page ad and I don't have a scanner but let me reproduce some of the truths as given by MIC.

"Every Indian who has benefited directly or indirectly from MIC is a silent majority and a silent supporter who has assisted MIC to rise and evolve to where it is today" - now that's quite a sweeping statement, isn't it? Could MIC please give us the list and perhaps a Statutory Declaration by these benefactors of MIC's deeds that they are indeed MIC supporters? Otherwise, I would just treat it as sales talk.

"Vote for PAS and see where Kelantan is today. That's how your constituency will be for the next 5 years. If you think that you are not progressing under MIC, than (sic) you can now imagine getting disintegrated under PAS" - Firstly, before you start comparing PAS and Kelantan vis a vis the other states, can you please publish the amount of Federal funding given to Kelantan compared to the other states? Please don't issue threats during elections by telling people that if we don't vote for you, we will wallow in poverty. For what they have given, I think the PAS government has spent the money prudently compared to the millions or billions supposedly pumped into other states which are still insufficient. I remembered Awang Adek (the BN Kelantan menteri besar-wannabe) telling the people that he will ask and make sure he gets from the Federal government RM1 billion to develop Kelantan compared to the RM400 million now given to Kelantan. So, he acknowledges that RM400 million is insufficient, isn't it? So, don't think people are stupid and be coyed by your threats of disintegration.

"If you do not vote for MIC, you are depriving your children the right to preserve and uphold Tamil, Hinduism and the right to seek education" - Excuse me? I thought the rights to speak one's mother tongue, practice and profess a religion and education are enshrined and protected under the Federal Constitution? Since when do we actually need a race-based party to preserve and uphold these rights? Unless you are claiming that there is some unseen force within BN which threatens such rights in MIC's absence. Unless you are claiming that your fellow component parties in BN would, at the first sight of the absence of Indian representatives, deny Indians the right to speak Tamil, practice Hinduism and the right to seek education. What kind of a coalition is BN are you trying to portray to us then? I would expect an Indian representative to fight for the rights of all Malaysians in accordance with the spirit of the Federal Constitution and not just shrug off with a comment "That's a chinese problem" or "That's a malay problem". As the people's representative, you owe a duty to the people of Malaysia to discharge your duties to the nation without fear or favour. Not just jaga kain sendiri and let other fellow Malaysians who are being discriminated against go by.

I think that's enough commentary for now on this absurd piece of sales gimmick. Please don't take Indians for fools to believe your kind of propaganda and to continue to subscribe into your racial politics. It is nauseating to say the least after 50 years of independence that we should continue to vote parties which continue to perpetuate jaga kain sendiri.