Saravanan rejects incumbency principle in seat negotiations

MIC deputy president M Saravanan has expressed his disagreement with the practice of incumbent parties contesting their seats in elections.

This is because BN has a tradition of sharing seats between component parties, he said during his speech at the coalition’s 50th-anniversary celebrations at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur today.

“It is not suitable for MIC and Umno. That’s the wrong formula, sir.

“MIC adamantly disagrees (with it),” he said, likely directing the statement to BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who was in attendance.

He referred to MIC giving up the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat to Umno as well as the Tanjung Piai seat to MCA.

If the practice of incumbency had been in place then, Umno would not have the Cameron Highlands seat, he added.

“That is our spirit. Today we don’t see this same spirit in other places,” he said.

Providing opportunities

Previously, youth division chiefs would automatically be given the chance to contest in elections, he added.

“If we want to use the incumbency formula of today, until we die maybe we won’t have the chance to be a candidate,” he said.

He went on to praise Zahid for being the first BN chairperson to provide opportunities for allied group Friends of BN to run in an election.

“If we followed today’s formula, until the last moment Friends of BN would just be sticking up posters. That’s all they would have,” he said.

In the last general election, four of BN’s candidates were from Friends of BN.

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