BERSATU’S move to accept non-Malay members into its fold is bad news for MIC as the Indian-based party will now have yet another rival for Indian support, said M. Saravanan.

Expressing disappointment with Bersatu’s move, the MIC deputy president said there are already a number of Indian-based parties in existence to cater for the small number of Indian population.

Bersatu, which is MIC’s ally in the ruling Perikatan Nasional pact, should just focus more on being a Malay-based party, he said.

“There are already a few Indian parties which have been approved by the government.

“If there is going to be a new component, this small Indian community in Malaysia will be fragmented into so many parties and this is not good for the community.”

On Saturday, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin said the party is reviewing its constitution to allow Malaysians of any race or religion to join its ranks and leadership.

Bersatu was formed to mirror Barisan Nasional lynchpin Umno’s agenda of fighting for Malay and Muslim rights, and its membership was opened only to Bumiputeras.

Muhyiddin said a committee led by Rais Yatim will study the matter before bringing it to the Bersatu leadership council (MPT).

“In the last MPT meeting, I brought a motion to enable associate members to contribute ideas, not only to become regular members, but also to give ideas and be involved in leadership.

“We will form a new division in Bersatu. We propose the formation of a new chapter that will allow allied members to hold office and contribute ideas to advance the party,” said Muhyiddin.

Saravanan said there are only two million Indians in the country and they are a small community.

“What if you divide it (Indian voters) into 20 parties… then it is not good. Why do the Indians need so many parties? It’s diluting us. They (Bersatu) should remain as a Bumiputera party and assist the Malays.”

Saravanan, who is also the human resources minister, said he aired his grouses to former PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali, who recently joined Bersatu and its secretary-general, Hamzah Zainudin.

“I have registered my concern and disappointment and said that they (Bersatu) shouldn’t do this.

“We (MIC) are not pleased with Bersatu starting a multiracial party.”

MIC has no issues with Muafakat Nasional, which is made up of three major Malay parties, Umno, PAS and Bersatu, as part of the ruling bloc, he said.

“We are all right with Barisan Nasional, and in MN, we are going in as a BN party. It’s a package as we have been working together for a long time.

“We have no issues working with all component parties but I feel that this is not the right time for Bersatu to become a multiracial party.”

MIC, set to join Perikatan Nasional, said yesterday it’s not signing up with the new pact.

Its secretary-general, M. Asojan, conveyed its decision to the Registrar of Societies on August 24.

Asojan wrote that that the party agreed to join PN on July 15 under the impression that BN would also be joining the pact headed by Bersatu.

“However, since Umno announced on July 29 that it will not be joining PN, the MIC central working committee’s decision on July 10 to join PN is now ineffective.

“Until a new decision is made by the MIC CWC, the previous decision to join PN is withdrawn,” he said in the letter.

Rais meanwhile told The Malaysian Insight that Bersatu is not planning on becoming a multiracial party but was exploring opening a new wing to accommodate non-Malay members without giving them full membership.

This is to enable more inclusivity for additional roles and even seats in elections. – August 28, 2020.