GE15: MIC joins calls urging Ahmad Zahid to resign as Barisan chief

JOHOR BARU: MIC has joined the loud voices of those within Barisan Nasional urging Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) to resign as chairman, calling him a “liability” to the coalition.

MIC Youth chief K. Raven Kumar said Barisan’s performance in the 15th General Election (GE15) was more “severe and chronic” compared with the 14th General Election (GE14).

“The majority of youths in the country sees Barisan being gripped by warlords and the ‘court cluster’ - the clear shift in the young voters’ support towards Perikatan Nasional shows that they want a clean government that focuses on their welfare.

“There are many capable leaders in Barisan such as (former health minister) Khairy Jamaluddin, (MIC president) Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran and (former finance minister) Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz, who were all defeated in GE15.

“Despite their loss and the additional number of voters due to the automatic voter registration, they managed to lessen the majority gained by Pakatan Harapan in GE14.

“This shows that these leaders are acceptable by the rakyat and they should be given the chance to lead the party,” said the Johor tourism, environment, heritage and culture committee chairman on his Facebook on Sunday (Nov 20).

He urged Ahmad Zahid to take responsibility for Barisan's performance in GE15 and respectfully step down from his position.

“We cannot keep gambling away the party’s future due to greed and personal interest.

“New faces and leaders are urgently needed for Barisan to recover and him stepping down at this point will give us a chance to recover and gain relevancy among Malaysians,” he added.

Earlier, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi called for Ahmad Zahid’s immediate resignation as coalition chairman and Umno president following Barisan’s performance in GE15.

This prompted other party leaders in Johor to echo similar views.