About 3,000 Indian Progressive Front (IPF) member-delegates will decide next Sunday whether to dissolve the party to enable its members to join MIC, the major Indian-based component in the ruling Barisan Nasional.

IPF president M Pandithan told a press conference after the party's Central Working Committee meeting this morning that 2,950 delegates to the party's conference will also decide on Feb 11 if members should consider joining PPP, another component party in the 14-member BN coalition.

The CWC meeting, attended by 67 members, again decided to ask MIC president S Samy Vellu to give a letter on its proposal inviting IPF to join the MIC (Malaysian Indian Congress).

Pandithan said even when Umno invited opposition party PAS for Malay unity talks, there was an exchange of letters.

"We want only some guidelines regarding MIC's invitation in writing. If Umno and PAS can exchange letters, why can't MIC and us do the same?"

However, even if there is no such letter till Feb 11, Pandithan said the delegates, including 250 each from the Women's and Youth wings, will vote on the proposal whether IPF members should dissolve their party and join MIC.

Pak Lah to open party conference

The Feb 11 conference at PWTC, Kuala Lumpur, is scheduled to be opened by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Although not a BN member, IPF in the past 10 years has thrown its support behind BN in electoral contests, although in its early years it was part of an opposition front.

Last week Samy Vellu said he would not send any invitation in writing to IPF as he felt that in politics, it was a gentlemen's agreement on such matters, and an oral invitation was all he would offer to Pandithan and his members to join MIC.

Pandithan, a former vice-president of MIC who was expelled and later formed the IPF, also said that if he were to join MIC, he would only go in as an ordinary member. The IPF has been trying for the past 10 years to join the BN but its entry has been consistently blocked by MIC.

On the alternative invitation from PPP, Pandithan said PPP is a multi-ethnic party and its invitation is not to be taken as seriously as IPF is an all-Indian party like MIC.

Asked by a journalist on whether IPF members would consider joining the multi-racial Gerakan, also a component of BN, Pandithan said: "We are more keen on MIC."