State polls: Ex-Ijok rep Parthiban, 50 MIC members pledge support for PN

PETALING JAYA: A total of 50 MIC members have pledged to support Perikatan Nasional (Perikatan) in the Aug 12 state elections.

The move comes after MIC central working committee (CWC) member Parthiban Karuppiah claimed that the party was treated unfairly by the Barisan Nasional (Barisan) and Pakatan Harapan (Pakatan) coalitions while ignoring the plight of Indians in the state.

Instead, Parthiban believes that Perikatan had showed its commitment towards the Indian community by fielding six candidates compared to Barisan and Pakatan, who only named four Indian candidates in Selangor.

"This action is also due to the recent CWC decision not to campaign for Pakatan candidates in the upcoming elections across six states.

“It comes after how MIC was treated unfairly in the Barisan coalition, which is seen as no longer fighting for the Indian community in these states,” Utusan Malaysia reported.

Earlier, Parthiban along with 50 other MIC leaders pledged to support Perikatan in front of Selangor Perikatan deputy chairman Datuk Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi at Selangor PAS office.

Known as Cikgu Parthiban, the former Ijok state assemblyman had denied that he was suspended or fired from the CWC or MIC after allegedly participating in Perikatan’s campaign.

Last Sunday (July 23), he was seen at the launch of the Perikatan Supporters’ Club Secretariat (India) in Tanjong Karang which was attended by Selangor Perikatan chairman Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and former Tanjong Karang MP Tan Sri Noh Omar.

He reminded that together with MIC leaders, the wave of the Indian community continues to storm the urban areas in the state.

"The wave of Indian communities has started to break into rural areas such as Tanjong Karang and Kuala Selangor. With more than 40% of the total Indian population residing in Selangor, he is confident that he can give Perikatan an advantage," he said.