Saravanan rebuts Mohamad Hasan over BN meeting remarks, cites UMNO’s past betrayals

 

MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan has pushed back against UMNO deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan’s call for MIC to voice concerns only at BN supreme council meetings, accusing UMNO of repeatedly sidelining its partners and ignoring the coalition’s own resolutions.

Mohamad, better known as Tok Mat, had earlier urged MIC to raise issues internally rather than airing grievances in public.

“If you have opinions, let us know. Don’t keep your feelings bottled up in meetings but talk about it outside. That’s not right,” he was quoted by Berita Harian. He warned that such actions could affect harmony within BN.

But Saravanan countered, saying Tok Mat’s memory appeared selective and pointing to several instances where UMNO acted unilaterally without BN consensus.

“After the 15th General Election, Zahid Hamidi unilaterally issued a letter to the palace claiming BN’s support for Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister. This was done without the knowledge, approval, or mandate of the BN Supreme Council,” Saravanan said.

He said that when this betrayal came to light, three out of four component parties unanimously agreed that Zahid should step down, and Tok Mat should assume the BN Chairmanship.

“Tok Mat himself agreed, yet when the time came, he remained silent,” he said, adding that the decision was never implemented.

If BN’s own resolutions cannot be enforced, Saravanan believes that it is pointless to lecture others about discussing in meetings.

According to him, all BN candidates were forced to sign statutory declarations. Yet these SDs only carry meaning when tabled and endorsed at the BN Supreme Council.

He further commented that during the six state elections, seat allocations were made unilaterally. How many seats UMNO would contest, how many would go to others, all this was decided without BN consensus.

“When MIC and MCA were denied two additional seats, was this discussed at the BN Supreme Council? Certainly not. When Johari Ghani was appointed as a Minister in the Cabinet reshuffle, was this appointment tabled or discussed at the BN Supreme Council? Again, it was not. These are the facts,” he said.

And when the courts decided that the addendum related to Najib Razak does indeed exist, was it ever discussed at the BN Supreme Council whether the coalition should remain aligned or distance itself from those responsible? Again, there was silence.

“If crucial matters are never tabled, and if decisions made in the meeting are never enforced, then what value are these meetings Tok Mat is suddenly defending?” Saravanan asked.

MIC, he stressed, would continue to speak up to defend its community and coalition principles. “The real problem is not MIC’s silence, but UMNO’s betrayal of coalition trust,” he said.

The spat comes as several MIC state committees push to withdraw from BN, with PN leaders openly inviting MIC and MCA to consider joining their coalition. — Focus Malaysia