After sitting out Melaka polls, MIPP skips PN’s candidate announcement

 A party source says the party will not compromise its principles just to secure seats in the election.

MIPP secretary-general N Sathes Kumar confirmed that the party would not be attending PN’s candidate announcement event for the Melaka polls.

PETALING JAYA:

The Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) skipped Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) unveiling of its candidates for the Melaka state election tonight after deciding earlier to sit out the polls.

“Our absence from the candidate announcement is a reflection of our position,” the source, who did not want to be named, told FMT.

The source was referring to the party’s decision earlier today to skip the polls after failing to reach an agreement during seat negotiations with PN’s leadership.

“We cannot celebrate an arrangement that we do not agree with.”

The source went on to say that the party would not compromise its principles simply to secure seats, insisting that mutual respect must be reflected in how coalition partners make decisions.

When contacted, MIPP secretary-general N Sathes Kumar confirmed that the party would not be attending the candidate announcement event.

Earlier today, MIPP president P Punithan told FMT that teamwork, mutual respect and inclusiveness were essential to any coalition, adding that a strong alliance must be built on trust and a willingness to respect the interests of every component party.

MIPP won none of the five seats it contested in its electoral debut in Johor this year, with all five candidates losing their deposits.

Nomination for the Melaka election will take place on Saturday, with early voting on Nov 10 and polling on Nov 14.

In the 2021 state election, BN won 21 of the 28 seats, while Pakatan Harapan secured five and PN two. - FMT