PN Says MIC Is In, MIC Says Nobody Asked
MIC number two Datuk Seri M. Saravanan insisted the party’s CWC had never met to decide the matter, and that MIC had only made enquiries, not submitted an application and meanwhile, BN still considers MIC a member.
Subscribe to our FREE Newsletter, or Telegram and WhatsApp channels for the latest stories and updates.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) declared today (17 March) that the MIC had formally joined its ranks, only for MIC’s own deputy president to flatly contradict the announcement within hours — setting off one of the more unusual political disputes in recent memory.
PN secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan told reporters that the coalition’s Supreme Council had approved MIC’s entry, with the decision first made in December and formally confirmed at a meeting last Saturday (14 March).
He said he would be meeting MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran later this evening to hand over an official letter welcoming the party as PN’s fifth component.
It was, by all appearances, a done deal.
MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan did not see it that way.
“No Decision Has Been Made”
Speaking to the media, the Tapah MP said MIC’s central working committee (CWC) — the party body with the authority to make such a call — had not met to deliberate on the matter.
Until it did, he said, nothing was final.
“No decision has been made by MIC to join PN. I’ve been very clear from day one: we will let the CWC decide, and the CWC has yet to decide anything.“
He went further, clarifying that MIC had not submitted a formal membership application to PN.
What the party had done, he said, was make enquiries into what joining as a component party would involve — following an earlier invitation from then-PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
An enquiry, he stressed, is not an application.
Saravanan also said he had no knowledge of any planned meeting between Vigneswaran and Takiyuddin, adding that the president would have informed him had such a meeting been scheduled.
A Party Claimed By Two Coalitions
The contradiction leaves MIC in an awkward position — publicly claimed by PN, while Barisan Nasional (BN) continues to regard it as a component party.
BN secretary-general Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir said the coalition had received no formal notification from MIC and still considered it a member.
That position was reinforced by on-the-ground optics: MIC leaders were seen attending a recent BN leadership retreat, a visible signal that the party had not yet made a clean break.
MIC’s frustrations with BN, however, are well documented: the party has described itself as feeling like an “unwanted guest,” citing the absence of ministerial representation and meaningful appointments to government-linked companies under the current administration.
At its annual general meeting in November, the party resolved to leave the decision on its political direction — stay in BN or move toward PN — in the hands of Vigneswaran and the CWC.
The delegates unanimously supported a resolution to leave BN.
@sinarharianonline Perwakilan MIC berdiri tanda sokong usul keluar BN, masuk PN Perwakilan MIC sebulat suara menyokong usul ketiga dikemukakan dalam Perhimpunan Agung Tahunan parti tersebut iaitu keputusan untuk keluar daripada Barisan Nasional (BN) dan memasuki Perikatan Nasional (PN), lapor wartawan Sinar Harian, Aisyah Basaruddin. Suasana dewan bertukar riuh apabila Timbalan Presiden MIC, Datuk Seri M Saravanan bertanyakan sama ada perwakilan bersetuju atau tidak untuk menyokong usul keluar daripada BN dan kesemuanya berdiri sebagai tanda sokongan. Copyright disclaimer: Segala penyuntingan video adalah hak cipta terpelihara milik Sinar Harian. #SinarHarian #60saat #MIC #BN #perhimpunanagungTahunan ♬ original sound – Sinar Harian
Forced Into The Open
In January, Vigneswaran acknowledged that a leadership meeting would be needed to settle the question.
That meeting, it appears, has yet to happen.
Takiyuddin’s public announcement has effectively forced MIC’s hand.
With PN now on record saying the party is in, and a formal letter reportedly on its way to the president, MIC’s leadership will need to respond — publicly and clearly.
Accepting the letter would validate PN’s narrative, while rejecting it would mean a public rebuff of the opposition coalition.
Either way, the party can no longer sit quietly on the fence.
For now, two senior figures from two different parties are offering two completely different accounts of the same event — and MIC’s next move will determine which one history remembers as accurate.
Parts of this story have been sourced from Harian Metro and The Sun.
Share your thoughts with us via TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Threads.
