PETALING JAYA: MIC’s decision to remain with Barisan Nasional, after a prolonged time of mulling its future with the coalition, paid off in the Johor state election as it won all the four seats contested.
Talk of MIC leaving BN had been ongoing for some time, especially after its general assembly in November when delegates gave the leadership the mandate to consider such a move amid dissatisfaction over the party’s role and relevance.
The party led by SA Vigneswaran had even been accepted into Perikatan Nasional at the end of last year, though it said it merely enquired about being a component.
PN eventually closed the door on its offer to MIC, after the party said there had been a change in the coalition’s leadership, with PAS taking over at the helm from Bersatu.
In the 2022 Johir state election, MIC contested four seats and won three – Kemelah, Kahang and Tenggaroh.
While Tenggaroh was contested by Umno this time around, MIC managed to retain Kemelah and Kahang comfortably, especially in the latter, where it won with a whopping 12,013-vote majority.
The party also succeeded in wresting Bukit Batu, which had been held by Pakatan Harapan component PKR since 2013, with a slim 174-vote majority.
Another major achievement was taking the Perling seat, held by DAP since its creation in 2018, with a majority of 1,611 votes.
In comparison, PN’s Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP), an MIC offshoot, failed to win a single seat in the Johor polls, its maiden election outing.
All five MIPP candidates suffered heavy defeats and lost their deposits, though this may have more to do with PN’s internal turmoil involving Bersatu and PAS.
MIC will be buoyed by its performance last night and hoping for a repeat in the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan state election.
MIC’s last seat in the Negeri Sembilan assembly was Jeram Padang, which it won in 2018. The party had skipped the 2023 state polls when BN contested under a pact with PH.
