“Over the past eight months, not many initiatives have been announced or implemented for Indians as a whole,” Ganabatirau said, adding that longstanding employment and education issues remain unresolved.

He said the level of discontent within Indian communities had led to the low voter turnout and “protest voting” at the state elections last weekend.

While Indians are supportive of the unity government in general, this support wanes in rural or semi-rural areas.

“Currently, in many areas, there are no leaders (to consult) or channels for Indian MPs to take Indian issues to the government directly,” he said in a statement.

Ganabatirau said Malaysia needs to carefully manage its quota system when it comes to education.

“Indians know that the quota system cannot be abolished, but what they want to hear is the assurance that the good scorers will not be sidelined from the mainstream of the education sector.

“It is not about helping one or two students when they don’t get into public universities. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should have given a strong message and the highest level of assurance that Indians will be treated fairly when it comes to education, social justice, and the economy.”

Earlier, former Klang MP Charles Santiago said there is a general sense of “hopelessness” felt by the Indian community, which is one of the reasons behind the drop in support for Pakatan Harapan.

Santiago said an analysis conducted by Bridget Welsh, as reported in Malaysiakini, uncovered a decline of 21%, 19%, and 12% in Indian votes for PH in Negeri Sembilan, Penang and Selangor, respectively.