The thousands who were ushered into the Cheras badminton stadium in Kuala Lumpur yesterday to attend a 15,000-strong MIC gathering were also given a form to fill-up.

During the event themed 'an evening with the prime minister', an announcement was also made to remind the crowd about the form.

Following this, many were seen diligently filling up the details while others just folded the two-page document, which was in Bahasa Malaysia, and stuffed it into their pockets.

Malaysiakini managed to obtain a copy.

'Indian community's support for the country' - read the title of the questionnaire, which is a public opinion poll carried out by the government although no attribution to any particular ministry or agency was stated.

It contained a list of questions aimed at gauging the Indian community's sentiments towards the government.

'Do you love the country? Yes or No'. This was the first question posed to the respondents.

'Do you support government parties now?' Apart from 'Yes or No', this question gave respondents the option of 'Not Sure' as well.

'Are you happy with the government's performance?' For this, respondents were given more options - 'Very satisfied', 'Satisfied', 'Slightly dissatisfied', 'Not Satisfied' and 'Not Sure'.

Those who tick 'Slightly dissatisfied' or 'Not Satisfied' were also asked to state their reasons for feeling this way.

The next question focussed on the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP). 'In your opinion will the five tiers of the national mission under the 9MP be achieved?'

Education and religion

"Of late, numerous issues concerning the Indian community have gained attention. Do you agree that the government has been effective in handling these issues?," read the questionnaire further.

Following this, numerous questions were posed on the economy, education, social and religious issues.

Under 'economy', respondents were asked if there is 'equal business opportunities' and on the government's action to raise the Indian equity ownership from 1.5 percent to three percent.

On education, the questions touched on equal opportunities as well as Tamil schools.

As for religion, two questions were posed: 'Overcoming the problem of the construction of temples in an orderly manner?' and 'Overcoming the shortage of priests in the country?'

There was, however, no mention about the controversial issue of temple demolitions.

Posers on media

Respondents were also quizzed on the 'effectiveness of the media'.

'Do you watch the Tamil news programme on TV2 (the state-owned television channel)?' and 'Are you satisfied with the news reports on TV2?'

Questions were also posed on Tamil programmes featured on TV1 and TV2 as well as on the radio.

Respondents were also asked which Tamil newspaper they preferred and were told not to tick more than one.

The contest was between - MIC president S Samy Vellu's Tamil Nesan, his former deputy-turned-nemesis S Subramaniam's Makkal Osai and Malaysia Nanban, which is also critical of the MIC leadership.

'Do you believe all the information posted on political blogs and websites run by the opposition and political analysts?' - was the next question posed.

This was followed by, 'Which media are you confident provides information on current issues?' The choices ranged from government-controlled media to blogs.

Street rallies

Towards the end, respondents were asked to choose the best way to convey the people's grouses and problems to the government.

- Through the leaders/elected representatives
- Through Village Security Committees
- Through open dialogues
- Through the media
- Through letters

Respondents were also queried on whether they supported the actions carried out by opposition parties and 'extremist' groups which 'violate the law' such as street demonstrations, poison pen letters and making baseless allegations on the internet.

This was an obvious reference to the Nov 25 rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) in Kuala Lumpur which drew some 30,000 people.

Not objective

Commenting on the poll, an observer said that it is not proper to gauge the sentiments of the Indian community at a MIC function.

"How do they intend to obtain objective results, when some of the unhappiness concerns MIC itself. Furthermore, the majority of those who turned up are party supporters," he noted.

The observer also pointed out that the poll confirms the existence of problems and unhappiness among the Indian community despite government leaders arguing otherwise.

"Why else would they want to carry out such a survey?" he asked.

Another observer pointed out that a majority of those who attended the event were from the lower-income group, and would have had trouble understanding the technical terms and 'bombastic' Malay words used in the questionnaire.

While five Hindraf leaders, who were also accused of having terrorist links, have been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the massive street rally they organised ignited a widespread debate on the plight of the Indian community.

Apart from allegations of marginalisation by the government, critics have also accused MIC of failing to represent the Indian community effectively, a charge which the party denies.