Minorities party wants to join Harapan, pledges up to 30 seats

The NewGen Party has announced its intention to join the Pakatan Harapan coalition, promising help deliver up to 25 marginal BN-held parliamentary seats to the coalition.

It will also help Harapan retain 12 Harapan-held marginal parliamentary seats, said party chairperson Rajaretinam Armuggan today.

He was speaking at a press conference to announce the application to rename the NewGen Party to the Minorities Rights Action Party (Mira).

He said the party would champion the rights of all ethnic minorities and mobilise minority voters to support Harapan.

“Only a change in government can lead to a change in policy and implementation. The (present) government is still stubborn with the same policies and the same implementations.

“If the policies and implementations don’t change, then the policies will continue to be unfavourable to minorities and marginalised groups.

“Because of that, we representing NewGen or Mira have decided to join Harapan as it’s fifth partner,” he told the press in Kuala Lumpur.

In return for its support, Rajaretinam said Mira would not seek to contest in any electoral seats.

Instead, Mira wants Harapan to consider adopting and implementing the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities in Malaysia.

The party was registered in 2013 by former MIC turned PKR member S Gobi Krishnan.

It went through a phase of being named Parti Bebas Rasuah with the involvement of former PKR leader Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, although this has been disputed by certain party members themselves.

[More to follow]

- Mkini