He is the first MIC president since the party's inception in 1946 to find himself in the opposite side of the political fence following BN's defeat in the May 9 general election.

And SA Vigneswaran has the unenviable task of reversing MIC's fortunes.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, he dismissed the claim that the Indian-based party is no longer relevant in the current Malaysian political landscape.

According to him, MIC's relevance is debated whenever the party fails to make significant gains in the general election.

“Since the 2008 general election, whenever MIC loses in the elections, there will be voices which claim the party is no longer relevant or that race-based parties are no longer relevant.

“However, after the election, the people come back to MIC seeking its assistance to solve their problems.

“Therefore, MIC is only considered irrelevant when it loses in the election. But becomes relevant once again after the election,” he added.

Despite its far from sterling outings in the 12th and 13th general elections in 2008 and 2013, MIC was still a component party of the ruling coalition with access to the corridors of power.

Now, it is just one of three parties in BN, which appears to be struggling to adapt to its new role as the opposition after being in power for more than six decades.

Quizzed on this, Vigneswaran claimed that people are still coming to the MIC office in Kuala Lumpur for help despite the change of government.

“They are still coming, asking us to solve their problems,” he added.

Not concerned about those leaving MIC

On the relevance of race-based parties, the son of a former MIC federal lawmaker cited Bersatu and Amanah as examples.

“Even if DAP claims it does not represent a particular race, we all know it is predominantly-Chinese. Look at the election results. It shows that race-based parties are still relevant,” he added.

Following the 14th general election, MIC is left with only two parliament seats and three state seats.

Though this pointed towards a bleak future, Vigneswaran is determined to work towards ensuring MIC achieves success in the coming general election.

Describing this as his primary focus, he said: “Winning the election will ensure the party remains relevant in the future.”

Vigneswaran, who took over the leadership reins unopposed last week, is also not daunted by the prospect of members quitting MIC.

“I don't care about those who have left the party. Even if we are left with 200,000 members, their solid support is sufficient for us to remain relevant,” he added.

Vigneswaran also claimed that many school teachers who were once with MIC had left due to fear of reprisal from the Pakatan Harapan government.

Among those who have left MIC are S Sunther, the son of former party deputy president S Subramaniam.