Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran has questioned Barisan Nasional (BN) on who would be their “poster boy” for the upcoming GE15.
According to Malaysiakini, the former Senate President said one of the main issues which needs to be resolved if BN is to wage a lone battle in the next general election is who will be the Prime Minister candidate.
“If you are going to war, you need a captain. Who will be the poster boy for BN? This needs to be resolved. We cannot go for the election under a flag without a captain,” Malaysiakini quoted him as saying.
Although it was already made clear that UMNO president and BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi would lead the coalition, it seems that this notion does not blend well with MIC.
Unanswered Questions
Vigneswaran also pointed out that the just concluded Umno general assembly has left some unanswered questions, including the possibility of working with Bersatu, DAP, or Anwar Ibrahim after the election.
Noting that Umno has decided concerning its relationship with Bersatu based on what it thinks is best for Umno, Vigneswaran said other BN parties would do the same as well.
The MIC chief said although his party is expected to contest under the BN banner in the coming national polls, he emphasised however that there is a need for a clear direction.
“As far as MIC is concerned, we are with BN. But in BN, we must have a clear road as to how we are going for the election. Like UMNO, we will decide on what is best for us.
“MIC will decide whether to work with Bersatu or not, it will be our own decision,” he emphasised.
The MIC president’s bold statement has raised eyebrows and received many criticisms.
Sungai Siput Puteri UMNO chief Norazura Abdul Karim slammed MIC and asked to give away the Sungai Siput Parliament seat which was once MIC’s stronghold from 1959 to 2008.
MIC’s Veep Dato C Sivarraajh came to his party’s defence and hit out at UMNO asking the latter not to be so arrogant and challenged UMNO to contest on its own.
With that, members and supporters of both parties started hitting out at each other which is not healthy for BN in general. Both parties should use “proper channels” to air the views instead of washing their dirty linen in public.
For the spirit of BN, UMNO and MIC should work hand in hand to win the war which was started post GE14.
It is unclear on what grounds Vigneswaran issued his statements when he should be on the ground getting back the support of the Indians which MIC lost since 2008.
MIC has been doing badly since GE12. They lost their Sungai Siput seat which was held by former MIC presidents Tun VT Sambanthan from 1959 to 1974 and Tun S Samy Vellu from 1974 to 2008.
Who would ever imagine even MIC’s heavyweight like Samy Vellu could be toppled by PSM’s Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj in 2008?
In GE14, the then MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam also lost his Segamat seat to Datuk Seri Dr Edmund Santara who contested under PKR but later joined Tan Sri Muhyiddin’s Bersatu.
Overall, in GE14, MIC won two out of the nine Parliamentary seats and three out of the 18 state seats it contested.
Eventually, the election results for Cameron Highlands Parliament seat, which Sivarraajh secured by garnering 10,307 votes, were declared null and void by the court and a by-election was held where UMNO’s Ramli Mohd Nor won and garnered 12,038 votes.
Lost Support
The results of GEs from 2008 to 2018 is indeed evident that the party, which was supposed to represent the Indian community has lost its support within the community itself.
Besides that, in most of the other seats they contested, let it be parliament or state, MIC was depending on the Malay votes and this is an open secret to which nobody can deny.
It was reported that MIC has requested to contest in nine parliamentary seats from BN, most of which were their traditional seats. MIC should work with other component parties in the coalition to win these seats.
Challenging UMNO to go solo will not do any good for MIC. Not knowing what to call — is it MIC’s arrogance or naivety? — they should know where they stand.
The question now is who BN’s poster boy should be for MIC to win in the coming GE.
Why don’t they name their preferred Prime Minister candidate? Whoever the Prime Minister candidate for BN would be, MIC should prove what can they bring to the table. That would be better.
So, in the name of BN’s spirit, MIC should start working on the ground and stop questioning. – New Malaysia Herald
Note: The opinions stated in the article are that of the writer’s and do not necessarily reflect the stand of the New Malaysia Herald.
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