The once formidable MIC, which was founded in 1946, could drown in the coastal town of Port Dickson if it does not swim against the tide, warned Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy.

Therefore, the DAP leader urged the BN component party's leadership to put their foot down and contest the parliament seat albeit as an independent.

“MIC is on the verge of extinction. Given the circumstances, MIC must have the courage to make a stand and salvage some degree of dignity.

“Although its candidate would most likely be defeated, the decision to contest would earn the party respect, especially among the Indian community in Malaysia,” he told Malaysiakini.

Ramasamy was responding to MIC president SA Vigneswaran who announced this afternoon that his party would not contest its traditional seat, which fell into the hands of the then opposition in 2004.

He said MIC reached the unanimous decision at a central executive committee (CEC) meeting following Umno’s statement of BN's intention to contest the by-election.

"We are disappointed with Umno, which did not discuss (its plans) with us before announcing the intention to contest,” he had told reporters.

Meanwhile, Ramasamy pointed out that MIC had put up a decent fight for the Port Dickson seat in the last general election.

“Based on this, the party can pull in votes. Perhaps, it might not win the polls but it can put up a fight and prove that it still wields some influence,” he added.

In the May 9 general election, MIC's candidate V Mogan polled 18, 515 votes in the constituency, where Indians comprised 22 percent of the 75,212 voters.

The impending Port Dickson by-election was triggered yesterday, following the resignation of its PKR incumbent Danyal Balagopal Abdullah.

The by-election would pave the way for PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim's return to Parliament.

Yesterday, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan and vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin had said that the coalition would field its best candidate for the contest.