MIC has announced that it is “ready” to leave Barisan Nasional, the coalition which it co-founded with Umno and MCA over 50 years ago.
The party, one of Malaysia’s oldest, will also formally apply to join the opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional, said MIC deputy president M Saravanan.
Saravanan added that MIC delegates at the party’s convention have left it to party president SA Vigneswaran and the central working committee to execute this decision.
“The 79th convention has unanimously agreed that MIC is ready to end its participation in BN, subject to the process and provisions in the party constitution.
“MIC is also ready to officially apply to join PN with the purpose of building a new platform that is more inclusive, principled and that gives greater room for the voice of the Indian community in Malaysia.
“The convention gives party president Vigneswaran and the central working committee the full mandate to execute these steps and the formal matters involved,” Saravanan announced at IDCC Shah Alam today.
There has been speculation on MIC’s future direction for months now, with the party ruing its apparent mistreatment by BN‘s main party, Umno.
BN chairman and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that the coalition would not prevent MIC or any other component from leaving.
Earlier today, MIC president SA Vigneswaran told the party’s annual convention here that MIC had reached a crossroads in its journey with BN, and that it was up to delegates to determine its direction and future.
MORE TO COME
