New party set up to represent Indian Muslim community

KUALA LUMPUR: A new political party called Parti India Muslim Bersatu Malaysia (PIBM), aiming to unite the local Indian Muslim community, has been launched by businessman Datuk Jamarulkhan S. Kadir.

Jamarulkhan, who is the PIBM’s protem president, said the party was formed because there is no political platform for the Indian Muslim community in the country following GE14.

“Yes, there is the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma), but the whole political scenario changed after GE14. There is a vacuum for the Indian Muslim community to work with the new government,” he said.

Jamarulkhan, who is also the president of the Malaysian Indian Chamber of Commerce and Indus­try, was speaking to the media at the launch of PIBM at the Malay­sian Tourism Centre (MaTiC) yesterday, said the party aims to recruit 5,000 members within three months.

He said PIBM had already submitted an application to the Regis­trar of Societies (RoS) on Aug 23.

Asked if the party would forge an alliance with the Pakatan Harapan government, Jamarulkhan maintained that the party would be free and independent.

“But we will work together with any parties with similar aims,” he said.