Not interested: MIC tells off Umno on Pulai-Tapah seat swap

 

MIC president SA Vigneswaran said his party is not interested in contesting the Pulai parliamentary constituency in the 15th general election.

He described Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed’s proposal to offer the seat to MCA and MIC as unwanted.

“MIC never asked to contest in that parliamentary seat. Moreover, we are not interested in contesting there.

“So, this issue need not be raised from now onwards,” Vigneswaran (above) told Malaysiakini yesterday.

He was asked to comment on Nur Jazlan’s challenge yesterday calling on MIC to “sacrifice” by allowing Umno to contest the Tapah seat. In return, MIC will get to contest the Pulai seat.

The Tapah seat is currently held by MIC deputy president M Saravanan, who is the human resources minister.

Nur Jazlan held the Pulai seat for three terms before being defeated by Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub during the 2018 general election.

The row started last month when Nur Jazlan criticised MIC and MCA, saying the two parties cannot be relied on to rally non-Malay support for BN.

The two parties have become too dependent on Umno, he said.

In response, Saravanan called Nur Jazlan delusional and that people like him were the reason why BN lost in the last general election.

Nur Jazlan then dared Saravanan to contest in Pulai, but the challenge was recently accepted by Johor MIC information chief S Deva.

Meanwhile, Vigneswaran said negotiating parliamentary seat allocations is the prerogative of BN’s top leaders.

“I think state leaders don’t need to interfere with this,” he said. - Mkini