KUALA LUMPUR: MIC‘s 79th annual general meeting today deferred its decision on whether it would remain within Barisan Nasional (BN) or leave the coalition.
Delegates also agreed to leave the decision to party president Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran and the central working committee.
Deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan had earlier tabled a motion on whether or not MIC would leave BN and join Perikatan Nasional (PN), which was then debated by delegates.
Speaking at a press conference after the AGM, Vigneswaran said two motions were put forward.
“Firstly, the delegates decided today to leave BN and join PN.
“Secondly, they agreed to give full mandate to the central working committee and the president to make the final decision.
“The option of leaving is there, it’s just a matter of who and when. We thank the delegates for giving us the opportunity to decide because, in every aspect of joining a new alliance, many considerations must be taken into account,” he said.
Vigneswaran said he also met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Friday to discuss its intention to leave BN.
He said Anwar urged MIC reconsider, given that it has been a long-time BN component.
In August, Penang and Kedah MIC said it was considering working with PN and did not rule out the possibility of leaving BN.
On Oct 17, BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the coalition will not stand in the way if MIC decides to leave.
MIC currently holds one parliamentary seat, namely Tapah.
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