Umno minister Nazri Abdul Aziz said his remarks about MIC, which have been called hurtful, were made in full confidence that it would not damage ties between the two parties.

"In my opinion (what I said) would not result in a split of our parties in BN. I'm still confident of this, that is why I made such statements.

"If MIC was a stranger to (Umno) my attack would be together with the intention to really hurt them

"But our bond is so strong, it would not affect our relationship," Nazri told Malaysiakini.

He added BN was not like Pakatan Rakyat, whose relationship was so fragile that the spat between DAP and PAS had resulted in the coalition's "divorce".

However, Nazri said he understood MIC president S Subramaniam's unhappiness.

Nazri was responding to Subramaniam's statement yesterday that the tourism and culture minister had hurt the feelings of MIC grassroots leaders.

The Umno supreme council member had told Malay Mail Online that Umno was the dominant party in BN because its other component parties had to parachute their leaders into safe seats.

He had cited Subramaniam, who contested in Segamat, Johor, despite being a Penang local.

The remark was made amid a spat between Nazri and MCA's Ti Lian Ker over the dismal performance of component parties in general elections.

Nazri said he is confident that this would improve under Subramaniam's leadership.

"I have the highest respect for Subramaniam. With him at the helm of MIC, we will win more seats in the next election."

In the 2013 general election, MIC won four of the nine parliamentary seats it contested, while Umno won 88 seats.

Meanwhile, MCA president Liow Tiong Lai said Nazri and Ti have assured him that they will stop the sparring and remain fully committed to BN’s mission and ideals.

According to The Star, he also said in a statement that it was very normal for members of a large coalition to have differing viewpoints.

"It has been our tradition for 45 years that after all is said, the consensus rule applies."

Liow said he was also optimistic that the coalition would return stronger - as on countless other occasions.