KUALA LUMPUR – MIC has more to gain by joining with Pakatan Harapan (PH), rather than Perikatan Nasional (PN), said an Umno leader today.
According to Supreme Council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi, this is because joining PH would give MIC room to negotiate for positions.
“(MIC president) Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran had said that the party will continue supporting PMX (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) even if it quits BN (the Barisan Nasional coalition).
“Isn’t that enough ‘hint’ about MIC’s direction? Especially when the delegates have left the decision about the party’s political direction to the central working committee? This makes it easier for Vicky (Vigneswaran) to make a ‘U-turn’ from PN to PH,” Puad wrote on Facebook this morning.
Yesterday, the MIC’s 79th annual convention deferred the decision on whether to stay in Barisan Nasional (BN) to party president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran and the central working committee (CWC).
No votes were taken to decide on three resolutions put up by MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M Saravanan, including proposals to leave BN and to formally apply to join the opposition coalition PN.
Speculation over MIC’s future has been ongoing for months, fuelled by the party’s dissatisfaction with perceived neglect by BN’s leading party, Umno.
Speaking to reporters after the convention, Vigneswaran said the party is prepared to work with any bloc that respects its principles and ideology, including PH.
“To be honest, we haven’t decided whether we want to join PN or PH. We are ready to work with anyone as long as they accept our principles and ideologies,” he was quoted as saying.
Commenting further, Puad expressed confidence that Anwar would surely accept MIC into the PH fold, as he had accepted Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, into PKR.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki also weighed in on the issue as he commented on Puad’s Facebook status.
He questioned whether PH component PKR or DAP would be willing to surrender the parliamentary seats held by the parties’ Indian MPs to MIC, should the latter decide to join the coalition.
“One thing for certain is if MIC quits BN, the sole parliamentary seat won by MIC on BN ticket (Tapah) would be taken back by Umno, as agreed with PH earlier,” he commented.– November 18, 2025