KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) will first assess the sentiment of the Indian community before making any decision on joining Perikatan Nasional, says Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.
Stressing that as an Indian-based party, MIC will not rush into any political realignment before the views of the Indian community are taken into account, particularly in light of the current leadership of the coalition.
The MIC deputy president said the party has no issues with PAS’ leadership but acknowledged that acceptance among the Indian community remains a key concern.
He added that, for now, MIC remains with Barisan Nasional and no final decision has been made.
“In the past, the proposal to join PN was raised during the leadership of (Tan Sri) Muhyiddin Yassin, as MIC has had a long working relationship with him.
"However, now that PAS has taken over the leadership, we need to check the pulse of the Indian community. We cannot immediately move anywhere.
"Being an Indian party, we do not know if the community can accept PAS. We have no complaints about PAS’ leadership, we are okay with it but we need to find out if the community feels the same.
"Moreover, there are ongoing issues such as temple-related matters. So it is status quo for now and we remain with BN, ” the Tapah MP told reporters on Wednesday (March 25).
He also revealed that there had been an offer for MIC to join PN in the past, extended by Perikatan deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and that the party is still studying the proposal.
When asked about claims by PN secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan that MIC had already joined the coalition, Saravanan dismissed it as a miscommunication.
“We were merely making an enquiry and not an application (to join PN), ” he said.
