The MIC backs Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's stand that political parties which support the Barisan Nasional, but operate outside the coalition, be accepted as BN supporters.

saravanan kl draft plan 220808 03 Saying that BN should be inclusive rather than exclusive in nature, MIC vice-president M Saravanan said it should accept such political parties as "their support would be vital for the BN to remain in power".

"This should not only apply to Indian-based parties but other parties, as well. If we have a Malay-based party which supports the BN, but is not in the BN, then they too, must be accepted. The same applies to Chinese-based parties, too.

"This would ensure that the BN's support among the people grew and eventually, we would have a BN that is inclusive in nature, embracing anyone who supported it," the federal territories deputy minister told Bernama when contacted today.

Recently-formed Makkal Sakthi party has declared its support for the BN, despite not being a member of the coalition.

Asked to comment on Makkal Sakthi yesterday, Najib, who is also BN chief, said that he had explained to MIC leaders that the Indian community's support for the BN was not confined to just parties within the BN, and that there were parties outside the BN, like the Indian Progressive Front (IPF) which supported the coalition.

1BN concept proposed

"These parties are also interested in supporting the BN, so why don't we accept them, even though they are not BN members? It matters not whether the support is from a party in BN or outside, as long as they support BN.

NONE "We have parties such as the Indian Progressive Front and a new party (Malaysian Indian United Party) formed by (Datuk) KS Nallakaruppan which support BN.

"This Makkal Sakthi is a party that is interested in supporting BN. So, why can't we accept it as a BN supporter although it is not a member of the BN?," asked Najib who was in Paris on a four-day official visit.

The prime minister returned home early today.

In the last general election, Saravanan said, the BN lost some of the support of the Malay and Chinese communities.

To win back this support, he said the BN should help those Malay and Chinese political parties which were outside the BN but supported the coalition.

He said, in line with the prime minister's 1Malaysia concept, the BN should also adopt a 1BN vision which promoted togetherness among political parties, as long as they supported the ruling coalition.

- Bernama