MIC cites temple riot for pulling out of by-election
MIC's decision not to contest in the Cameron Highlands by-election is related to the riot outside the Sri Maha Mariamman in Subang Jaya on Nov 27 which led to the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim...
MIC's decision not to contest in the Cameron Highlands by-election is related to the riot outside the Sri Maha Mariamman in Subang Jaya on Nov 27 which led to the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim.
"The reality is that we have the Seafield (temple) problem where the Malay (voters) may not come out to vote for two Indian candidates," MIC president SA Vigneswaran said, referring to Pakatan Harapan also fielding an Indian candidate, DAP's M Manogaran.
"The truth is, we need to put a candidate who can win. So, this is a good and strategic decision," he told the media after BN named former Orang Asli senior police officer Ramli Mohd Nor as its candidate in Kuala Lumpur this morning.
Apart from the temple issue, Vigneswaran said MIC's confidence of winning the seat declined by 50 percent after its former Cameron Highlands MP C Sivarraajh was barred from contesting.
He pointed out that Sivarraajh had worked in the constituency for years.
Sivarraajh was made a target when he was barred by the EC from contesting in the by-election, he added.
In the last general election, Sivarraajh beat four contenders in Cameron Highlands, edging past Manogaran by a margin of just 597 votes.
Last November, the Election Court nullified the results due to the commission of corrupt practices and ruled that a by-election is held.
"BN or Umno never pressured us to surrender the seat," he said, adding that BN had just proposed another candidate to them.
He said MIC made its decision after conducting a study on figures plus the sentiment on the ground.
"The statistics show that this is not about Indian votes but about Malay and Orang Asli votes," he said.
It is important for BN to win and not which of its parties win the by-election, he said.
A victory will be the morale boost that is much needed by BN and its component parties at this stage, Vigneswaran added.
As such, he said MIC made their decision and there was no backlash from the grassroots.
Yesterday, MIC vice-president T Mohan expressed his disappointment over the party's decision to not contest the by-election.
Penang deputy chief minister (II) P Ramasamy had said MIC had betrayed the Indian community by not contesting.
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