This comes after PAS MPs held a press conference outside of Parliament today, where they questioned the lack of disbursement of Mitra funds.

One of them, Kapar MP Dr Halimah Ali, had claimed many Indian NGOs had signed offer letters months ago but were still waiting for the funds.

“I was shocked. Ten PAS MPs suddenly talking about Mitra?

“I’ve never seen this happen before,” he told reporters after handing out nearly RM1 million in business loans to Indian entrepreneurs here.

Ramanan, who is deputy entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister, warned the community not to be swayed by what he described as the “sudden concern” shown by opposition MPs towards Indian affairs.

“The Indians are not a community which doesn’t understand what is happening in the country. They are politically smart,” he said.

“Now, you want to pull the Indians over to your side and pretend that you are going to speak up for their well-being?

“All this while you have left us aside, forgotten us, not even thought about us. So, that is the reality now.”

Ramanan said despite being in the minority, Indian voters could prove to be the “kingmakers” in tight contests for seats in the next general election.

“We may be a small community, but as a united community, the Indian community can prove to be the deciding factor,” the Sungai Buloh MP said.

Asked about the perception that Indian support for the government was slipping despite the government’s efforts to channel funds to the deserving, Ramanan said this could be due to poor communication.

“Those who benefit don’t actually come out and say, ‘I’m happy, I’ve done well,” he said.

“And, obviously, haters will always be haters. We cannot change their mentality.”