MIC not seeking more than its nine-seat quota

MIC will maintain its quota of nine parliamentary seats and 19 state seats in the 13th general election, a party insider says, as the long-standing BN partner battles perceptions that it is no longer a force in politics.

Once regarded as the extension of the Indian Malaysian community which makes up the third biggest majority in the country, the MIC was nearly wiped out in the aftermath of the March 8, 2008 general election.

“Now is not the time to demand for more. It is the time to prove ourselves,” the highly placed source said when asked if MIC would negotiate for more seats, or whether it could be forced to give up some seats.

Several party divisions in Kedah and Penang have mooted the swapping of seats in Selangor for seats in the northern states.

The current the seats are also said to be being given a “re-look” to slot in bigwigs after the party suffered a serious setback with the defeat of its two top leaders - G Palanivel and S Samy Vellu - in 2008.

It was then said that the support of the Indians for the ruling coalition had plummeted from 82 percent to 47 percent and MIC, which had a track record of winning almost all the parliamentary and state seats it contested, was nearly destroyed.

The only survivors after the political tsunami were party vice-presidents Dr S Subramaniam (Segamat), M Saravanan (Tapah) and SK Devamany (Cameron Highland).

Subramaniam was subsequently appointed human resources minister, while Saravanan was made federal territories and urban well-being deputy minister and Devamany, deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

Najib’s sweeteners

The party gained another MP in a by-election in 2010, when then information chief P Kamalanathan recaptured Hulu Selangor - the seat Palanivel lost in 2008 after holding it for four terms.

Kamalanathan defeat former PKR leader Zaid Ibrahim with a comfortable 1,725-vote majority.

As for seats in state legislative assemblies, the MIC only won six out of the 19 it battled for in the last general election. 

With Prime Minister Najib Razak helping to shore up support for MIC, the party says it is gaining greater prominence among the Indian community. 

Another party source explained that Najib’s sweeteners, such as the RM100 million allocation to upgrade Tamil schools in Budget 2012 - which totalled to RM440 million since 2009 - has made a lasting impression on the community. 

The Indian community represents seven percent or 1.9 million of Malaysia’s 28 million population and is seen as a crucial vote bank for BN in the 13th general election, which some political analysts say could be held as soon as September.