SHAH ALAM: There is no compulsion for any party to stay in Barisan Nasional, says coalition chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Umno president told the media on Friday (Oct 17) that Barisan is ready to accept MIC's decision if the latter decides to leave the coalition.
"Who said we are ready (for MIC to leave Barisan)? We are open (to a party leaving) as we had 14 component parties in Barisan initially.
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"There is no compulsion for any party to join Barisan or to leave the coalition.
"I am sure MIC will make the wise decision as to which political coalition they will join," he said after officiating the Asean Sports Industry Expo 2025.
He was also asked why he was not invited to the MIC annual general assembly, which is due to be held on Nov 16.
"This is not the first time I have not been invited to the MIC annual general assembly. They want to solve their internal problems, and we give them the space to do so," he replied.
MIC had confirmed earlier in the day that Ahmad Zahid is not on the guest list, despite Barisan component parties usually extending invitations to the coalition president during their AGMs.
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In the past few months, MIC's top leaders have threatened to leave Barisan after claiming they were being sidelined by Ahmad Zahid.
MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran previously labelled Ahmad Zahid as a "liar" for claiming that surveys had shown MIC and MCA members did not want their parties to leave Barisan.
Vigneswaran said Ahmad Zahid should instead focus on gathering feedback from Umno grassroots about the loss of Malay support, particularly in Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis.
Both MIC and MCA have repeated the possibility of exiting Barisan over dissatisfaction with Ahmad Zahid’s leadership, which forged cooperation with Pakatan Harapan to form the unity government.
