He said Najib’s image problem was a contributing factor to the shift in support among Indian voters away from BN.

“If only he’d declared that he wasn’t contesting, maybe, I think BN would have retained power. But Najib’s position, 1MDB,  the goods and services tax and many other issues were played up by the opposition, so the Indians shifted,” Saravanan told FMT.

He said it was made worse by Pakatan Harapan making many “empty promises” such as resolving the issue of red ICs among Malaysian Indians, which they failed to do during the coalition’s 22-month tenure in government.

“And now they’re saying that the previous 22 months was not sufficient, it’s not Dr Mahathir Mohamad or anyone else saying that,” Saravanan said.

PH leaders said there was a lot of “rubbish” to be cleared – but the rubbish was created by Mahathir, he said.

“The same prime minister, who was there for 22 years and they brought him back, he should have cleared (the rubbish) within a day. So the Indians felt cheated after that,” he said.

Saravanan said Indian support had shifted back in BN’s favour during the Melaka and Johor state elections.

“They felt, I think, that a known devil is better than an unknown angel. That’s why they supported us in Melaka and Johor,” he said.

The parliamentary elections on Nov 19 would show the opposition facing the same fate, with more support reverting to BN, he said.