PETALING JAYA: MIC’s decision to stay away from the Barisan Nasional (BN) gathering to announce the candidates for the 15th general election (GE15) has raised more than eyebrows as it is considered a direct confrontation with coalition chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
In a surprise move, all 10 candidates from the party who were named by Zahid were not present. The seat next to MCA chief Wee Ka Siong, meant for MIC president SA Vigneswaran, was conspicuously empty.
Party insiders said the party was happy in terms of the number of seats and the seats that were offered. However, the seats offered to the Indian-based parties which were considered as “friends of BN” could have triggered the MIC leaders’ ire.
They are Makkal Sakti, Indian Progressive Front (IPF) and Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma), parties which had applied to join BN but were strongly opposed by MIC as the BN constitution says any admission must be a unanimous decision.
Makkal Sakti president T Thanendran was given the Nibong Tebal seat which Gerakan used to get when it was in BN, while IPF president T Loganathan will stand in Jelutong. Kimma president Syed Ibrahim Kader has been offered the Puchong seat.
“As for the party’s Sungai Buloh seat which has been given to Khairy Jamaluddin now, MIC leaders apparently wanted Puchong and Batu but only got Batu. Other than this, they got most of what they wanted,” one insider said.
Another source said the party had been a steadfast ally of Umno especially after it’s heavy loss in the last general election.
“The first by-election after GE14 was for the Camerons Highland seat which was won by an MIC candidate. But a by-election was called after the election court declared the seat vacant.
“And Vigneswaran magnanimously gave way to Umno to make it’s return. And yet he feels they are not grateful,” he said.
MIC candidates will stand in Sungai Siput (Vigneswaran), Tapah (M Saravanan), Hulu Selangor (T Mohan), Teluk Intan (T Murugiah), Padang Serai (C Sivarraajh), Batu (A Kohilan Pillay), Port Dickson (M Kamalanathan), Kuala Langat (M Mohana), Kota Raja (D Kajendran) and Segamat (MP Ramasamy).
“Let’s see what the party’s emergency central working committee (CWC) decides tomorrow. Besides the two issues, things do not look bad as a couple of seats offered were sought by Umno very strongly but Zahid did not relent,” he said.
Vigneswaran said earlier that the CWC would meet tomorrow to decide if the party would be contesting in GE15. This came amid reports that the party was mulling sitting out the election.
