'MGR' campaigning for Malaysia's ruling coalition

MGR campaigning for Malaysia's ruling coalition ahead of general elections? Not quite!

Popular Tamil politician-cum-actor M.G. Ramachandran or MGR, as he was commonly known, might have passed away 25 years ago but that has not prevented an Indian-origin man in Malaysia from impersonating him, the New Straits Times reported Saturday.

M.G. Segar, 63, is campaigning for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition ahead of the May 5 general elections, it added.

He has virtually brought MGR back to life by dressing up as the popular politician-cum-actor and has been campaigning for the ruling coalition saying that it is the best option for the Indian community in that southeast Asian nation.

The BN coalition's main constituents are the United Malays National Organisation, the Malaysian Indian Congress and the Malaysian Chinese Association.

"I have been a BN supporter since my father's days,�" Segar was quoted as saying. "BN had done a lot for the nation, this is just a small contribution from me to tell the people how much BN had helped the community."

According to the report, Segar started his campaign tour the very next day after nomination day and has visited various places across the country seeking support for the BN coalition in this year's general elections.

In the course of his campaign, he has visited several constituencies in the Malaysian states of Malacca, Perak and Selangor.

"I have been campaigning for BN since 1999, and the support for BN this time around is overwhelming," he said, adding prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has done a lot for the Malaysian Indian community.

"His (prime minister Razak) many initiatives to help the community have made huge differences in people's lives.�"

Indians comprise a little over seven percent of Malaysia's nearly 30 million population.

--Indo-Asian New Service

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