BARISAN Nasional (BN) component parties should not feel inferior or threatened when other parties join them to strengthen the coalition, R.S. Thanenthiran said.

The Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party president said parties such as his want to join BN to help the coalition win big in the next general election.

He said BN needs all the support it could get after its embarrassing defeat in the last general election, which also saw most BN parties routed.

“After GE14 (14th general election), about 10 parties left the coalition, so there is a vacuum. Now there is a place for everyone (other parties),” Thanenthiran told The Malaysian Insight.

“As such, those in BN should not feel inferior or threatened. We should now be more inclusive, not exclusive.”

Earlier this week, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said MIC should not be overly sensitive on BN’s decision to give seats to Makkal Sakti in the 15th general election (GE15).

Zahid, who is also Umno president, said it does not mean that Indian party Makkal Sakti will be taking over the seats that are already allocated to MIC.

“Why be overly sensitive if these BN-friendly parties are allocated seats?” asked Zahid.

Apart from MIC and Umno, the other two parties left in the coalition are MCA and Sabah’s PBRS.

MIC leaders refused to comment on Makkal Sakti joining the fray to fight on the same platform.

Makkal Sakti, formed in 2009 by leaders who left the Indian rights movement, Hindraf, has always thrown its support behind BN but was never given any seats to contest in past elections.

Thanenthiran reiterated that the party has no intention of taking away MIC’s seats or replacing it.

“What we want is to be a BN party. We (BN) lost tremendously in GE14,” he said.

“Zahid’s intention is to bring in more parties to support BN.”

He said instead of using old strategies, BN must come out to show that the pact can win over the people’s hearts and minds.

“That should be our main focal point instead of blocking people from coming in (joining BN),” he said.

“Now is not the time to be exclusive, and Zahid realises that. They should welcome all parties.”

Thanenthiran said they have been supporting BN for 13 years and they have never jumped to other parties.

“BN is the place we can rely on for the betterment of the people and nation,” he said.

“We plan to contest four parliamentary and seven state seats in Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor.

“It is up to the BN chairman to decide to give us (seats). We don’t demand it.”

Thanenthiran also hoped that BN will announce the seats early so that they can focus on the allocated seats.

“The chances of winning are high, but if informed at the last minute, it will be difficult,” he said.

He added that at present, Makkal Sakti has 130,000 members nationwide.

‘MIC must toe the line’

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said it is still unclear how BN is going to organise itself for the next election.

“For now, Zahid is the BN chairman and he has the leverage on who to nominate for the election. However, if someone else is in charge, the game will be different,” he said.

“Zahid may want to drive home the point that he’s in charge, and if MIC wants to benefit from BN’s support, it has to toe the line.”

He said MIC has to consider its chances of winning seats in the next general election.

He said if MIC decides to go with Perikatan Nasional (PN), and with PAS in it, that will not guarantee it any success in GE15.

“As it is, it (MIC) has lost support from even among the Indian voters. As for Makkal Sakti, it’s unclear how much support it could garner,” he said.

At present, MIC has only one parliamentary seat, held by party deputy president M. Saravanan in Tapah. He is also the human resources minister.

Tunku Mohar said Zahid’s willingness to give seats to Makkal Sakti could be his way of telling MIC that it is not indispensable.

“For Zahid, furthermore, it seems that he does not rely much on the votes from the non-Malay voters at the moment. His decision in BN has also been questioned by MCA, but he looks unperturbed,” he said.

Political analyst Dr Oh Ei Sun said there is a possibility that BN could be sidelining MIC or it could just be trying to win as many seats as possible by having more parties in the pact.

“MIC can threaten to join Perikatan Nasional instead, bringing with it the sole seat it has,” he said.

“Joining PN is always an option for MIC. PN, too, can use a non-Malay party to shore up its multiracial outlook.”

As for Makkal Sakti joining BN, he said it could be that Umno wants it to contest in seats deemed unwinnable for MIC.

“It depends on to what extent Makkal Sakti is still perceived by the Indian community and the wider voters as being still staying true to its Hindraf roots versus having been co-opted by the powers that be,” he said.

“If the former, then Makkal Sakti could win some seats. If the latter, then it is unlikely to perform better than MIC.” – October 4, 2021.