FORMER prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad does not have the right to speak about loyalty and there is no need to entertain his recent controversial statement on the matter, MIC president S.A. Vigneswaran said.

He said MIC has more important things to do than to be shaken up by his statement questioning the loyalty of Indians in the country.

“Loyalty is a concept alien to Tun M (Tun Mahathir) because he was not loyal to Umno, not loyal to Bersatu and not loyal to Pakatan Harapan, which appointed him prime minister in 2018. 

“...we do not want to comment about a person who doesn’t understand the meaning of loyalty. Just ignore him if he talks about loyalty; we have other work to do,” he told reporters after attending a Ponggal celebration near the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today.

Recently, a news portal reported that Dr Mahathir claimed in an exclusive online interview with an Indian satellite TV channel that Malaysian Indians were not completely loyal to the country as they were still “inexorably tied” to their country of origin.

Asked whether MIC would take any action on the racially sensitive statement, Vigneswaran said it was up to the government to do so.

He said MIC, which is part of Barisan Nasional, subscribes to the Federal Constitution and that Indians are loyal to the country.

Vigneswaran also questioned the status of statesman accorded to Dr Mahathir, saying the latter had not shown himself to be a leader for all races. – Bernama, January 15, 2024.