MIC’s campaign for the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election has been hit by internal issues, said party sources.

They said that not all members and grassroots parry workers are keen to campaign for PH although they are all part of the unity government.

They added that these members were frustrated with the way the party is “used” by the unity government, especially the PH, for its own benefit. 

“There is some discord between members and the central leadership over the decision to campaign for the DAP candidate in KKB. 

“Some feel that MIC is being used by PH so that we can work on the ground and pull Indian support. 

“The protest is silent. They never take it to the central leadership to argue or validate its decision to campaign for the unity government. 

“They will not actively campaign and probably cast their ballots to another candidate or boycott it,” the source close to the matter said. 

Last month, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that he received a call from MIC president S.A. Vigneswaran, confirming that the Indian party will extend its support for the unity government candidate in the KKB polls. 

With that, Anwar quashed reports of MIC boycotting the May 11 by-election. 

The source, who wished to remain anonymous, said some members were unhappy with their president’s decision to agree to campaign for the unity government. 

The source said members felt MIC could have taken a similar stand to their Barisan Nasional (BN) component partner, MCA, in deciding to stay away from campaigning for the unity government.

“If MCA can take a strong stance in not working and supporting the unity government, why can’t MIC? 

“MIC too, should have snubbed working in KKB. That’s what members feel. 

“Looks like MIC has no dignity at all,” the source added. 

MCA decided against participating in the KKB polls at the party’s political development committee meeting last month. 

MCA said they will not campaign in the KKB polls as the candidate is not from BN. 

Meanwhile, a former MIC leader from Selangor also confirmed the “split” in the camp, saying members had told him of their dissatisfaction while he was in KKB. 

“Yes. It is true that some members are dissatisfied to work with DAP and PKR, who once attacked MIC.

“They told me that they feel uneasy about working with DAP and PKR. The rivalry has been there for very long and cannot dissipate over a short period of time,” the former MIC man said. 

He said the divided members felt they were being used only when needed. 

“According to some dissatisfied members, they feel that MIC is doing all that it can for the unity government but there is no reward in the end. 

“They feel that MIC should have been given a minister’s position if Anwar’s claims of a “unity” government is true,” he said. 

Last week, MIC deputy president M. Saravanan took a dig at Anwar’s unity government, saying the PH chairman had sidelined the oldest Indian party despite it supporting the current administration. 

“MIC should be most frustrated at the current government. All the parties (in Barisan Nasional) agreed to support Anwar and we made him the prime minister.

“But they (PH and Umno) took all the positions and sidelined MIC and MCA,” the former human resources minister told hundreds of Indians at an event in KKB. 

The KKB seat in Selangor fell vacant following the death of its three-term DAP assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong on March 21.

The by-election is a four-cornered fight between Pang Sock Tao (PH/DAP), Khairul Azhari Saut (Perikatan Nasional/Bersatu), Hafizah Zainuddin (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) and independent Nyau Ke Xin.

The KKB constituency has a mixed electorate of Malays (53.4)% Malays, Chinese (30.5%), and Indians (15.82%).The remainder is made up of Orang Asli and others.

There are 40,226 registered voters in KKB; Indian voters number 6,362 and could decide the outcome of the election. – May 9, 2024.