Saoud BACCUS
1 November 2007
Port Louis — In an interview that appeared a couple of weeks ago, Vijay Makhan, ex-Foreign Secretary and now member of the MMM, potential minister in the next MMM-allied government, believed that the Muslim electorate was the kingmaker in the last general election.
For the next election, he added, Muslims will have a golden opportunity to undo their mistake by returning Paul Bérenger to power in the next election. So, if I understand correctly, the Muslim community should have voted for Bérenger and because they opted for Navin Ramgoolam instead, that was the mistake! I think Vijay Makhan should explain why he thinks Muslim voters goofed up by voting for Ramgoolam. Or, alternatively, Muslims need to know why they should end their hiatus and go back to the MMM.
Muslim support for the MMM has been eroding for some time now. The crux of that erosion did not happen in 2005; it happened five years earlier when Labour was able to elect one candidate in the heart of the Muslim electorate, constituency No. 3, in the 2000 tide that brought Bérenger to power. The message was clear and audible, but only to those who wanted to see and hear it.
What did Bérenger do to counter the rising tide?
If he did something, nobody saw it.
A few post-9/11 statements did him in. The nail in the coffin was POTA that resulted in the then-president Cassam Uteem leaving Le Réduit, refusing to give his assent to a bill that threatened Muslims' civil liberties, above all. Bérenger bit the hands that fed him for 30 years. And Ramgoolam took advantage of that, and what is now accepted as a master stroke, appointed a Muslim as VPM, and smooth-talked Muslim voters like only he can. The rest is history.
Ironically, when POTA was proclaimed, Ramgoolam vowed to get rid of the law, on the ground that it targeted Muslims only. Anything to woo Muslim voters. Now that he is in power, not only does he refuse to repeal it but he is using that same law that he found abject not long ago to prosecute a Muslim demonstrator. Another one biting the hands that fed him in 2005.
Where do we stand now? At most, only 30% - and that is generous - of decided Muslim voters are still with Ramgoolam. Who will the rest vote for? Will Bérenger successfully woo them back? He can - memories are very short in politics - but so far he has not struck the right chords nor has he been conciliatory, except for one short stint on Eid day. In the end, who needs whom most? I don't think Muslims need Bérenger as much as Bérenger needs them. And for that reason, Bérenger should go to them, rather than the other way round, especially that now it is given that they hold the key to the PMO. And the entire political brass needs to be reminded that Muslims in Mauritius remain the only significant minority who don't have a designated Muslim party to speak on its behalf.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2007 L'Express. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
