The original decision of MIC was a collective mandate from grassroots members, while the deferment was the personal decision of the party president.
PETALING JAYA: Umno supreme council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam said BN risks keeping a party that no longer stands with it, after MIC moved to align itself with PN.
He said the MIC talks with PN make its continued membership in BN untenable and a potential threat to the coalition.
“BN has long known that MIC is no longer fully aligned with the coalition,” Lokman told theSun.
“The timing of their announcement alone clearly shows ill intent.”
The 2025 Sabah state election polling day is set for Nov 29, and Lokman described the MICdiscussions about leaving BN as a “malicious attempt” to disrupt the polls.
He urged BN to take a stand, adding that the decision of MIC to defer its exit, after reportedly receiving “flowers from the prime minister”, does not change its mandate to leave.
“For me, the decision to leave BN, which came from the MIC delegates, is final, because it was made at the party general assembly, (which is) the highest decision-making body in the party.
“It is not a decision that its president Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran could simply reverse.”
He said the original decision of MIC was a collective mandate from grassroots members, while the deferment was the personal decision of the party president.
Lokman said BN should recognise a “hidden threat from within,” adding that the coalition should not continue harbouring a party that no longer stands with it.
“Regardless of what the MIC president decides today, we should not keep MIC in BN.”
Meanwhile, MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon said the party is focusing entirely on preparations for the Sabah state election.
“At this moment, our focus is entirely on the state election.
“We have two MCA candidates contesting under BN, and that is where our energy and resources are being directed.”
He added that any further comment concerning BN would only be made after the state polls.
“Everything else would be deliberated once the election is over. Right now, we are concentrating on the task ahead.”
theSun previously reported that both MIC and MCA had been weighing the possibility of parting ways with BN, raising questions about the future of the coalition’s iconic dacing (scales) symbol.
The 79th MIC annual general meeting on Sunday voted for the Indian-based party to leave BN for PN but decided to give full mandate to the central working committee and the president to make the final decision.
theSun has reached out to MIC leaders for comment but had not received any reply as of press time.
