Perak MIC outraged by Nazri's demand

The Umno supreme council member wanted MIC to give up all six state seats in Perak which it had lost in the last general election.


Perak MIC chief S Veerasingam asked party members to ignore Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz's request for MIC to hand over six Perak state seats, as it does not reflect the BN's official stand.

In his recent interview with Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau, the Umno supreme council member wanted MIC to give up all six state seats in Perak which it had lost in the last general election, claiming the BN could lose the whole state should the party re-contest in those constituencies.

S VeerasingamVeerasingam rebutted that statement today, arguing that the Perak MIC and the BN have regained Indian support under the leadership of Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"The support of the Indians is growing. This has been proven in the by-elections of Tenang, Merlimau and Bagan Pinang," he told Malaysiakini when contacted today.

Therefore, he called on all MIC members to rein in their anger and ignore Nazri's statement as it did not come from Zambry or Najib.

Comment summarily dismissed

The special advisor to Perak Menteri Besar in charge of Indian affairs in the state pointed out that Nazri's statement made no sense.

"In the last general election, not only the MIC but MCA, Gerakan and Umno lost seats. If all of them were to give up their seats, who is going to contest?

"So we must be careful when making statements," he said.

"All BN leaders should not make such statements. They should bring it to BN meetings, to the prime minister."

bar council debate on judicial commission 250407 nazri abd azizAlthough offended by Nazri, Veerasingam stressed that the MIC will continue to work hard, including in Padang Rengas, the parliamentary constituency of Nazri, to ensure a BN victory in the next polls.

"Under BN's spirit of power sharing, we will continue to work as a team."

In his interview with Nanyang Siang Pau, Nazri had also ruffled the feathers of MCA and Gerakan leaders by describing MCA as acting like a neglected wife of Umno, and Gerakan as a party without grassroots.

MCA leaders had slammed Nazri for going against the spirit of 1Malaysia, while Gerakan secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow had threatened to pull the party out of the BN. - Malaysiakini