Three political analysts have rejected claims by a Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) leader that the party could one day contest a seat in the Sabah state assembly, citing the state’s intricate political landscape and the negligible size of its Indian electorate.
James Chin, a political scientist from the University of Tasmania, highlighted the lack of a significant Indian demographic in Sabah’s constituencies. “No constituency in Sabah has an Indian electorate exceeding 5%,” he told FMT. “The Indian community is politically insignificant. The biggest hurdle is credibility: if MIC contests, people will question who they are representing.”
According to MyCensus 2020, Indians constitute just 0.2% of Sabah’s population. The demographic composition of most constituencies is dominated by a mix of ethnic groups, primarily Muslim Bumiputeras, non-Muslim Bumiputeras, and Chinese.
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara and Lee Kuok Tiung of Universiti Malaysia Sabah echoed Chin’s skepticism, noting that MIC, as a peninsula-based party, would struggle to gain traction in Sabah. “It’s going to be challenging for MIC to find a local partner,” Azmi said. “Potential allies will hesitate because MIC is seen as a peninsular entity.” He further noted that MIC lacks political influence even in Peninsular Malaysia.
Lee emphasized the dominance of local parties in Sabah’s crowded political arena. “Sabah MIC operates in an environment saturated with local parties, making it difficult to secure winnable seats without disrupting potential alliances,” he said. He suggested that a more feasible approach for MIC would be to secure one of the six nominated assembly member positions. However, he cautioned, “Sabah MIC must prove it is a ‘local’ party, not an ‘imported’ version from Malaya.”
The analysts were responding to remarks by MIC vice-president T. Murugiah, who heads the party’s Sabah chapter. Murugiah suggested that MIC could follow the example of Chinese-based peninsular parties contesting in Sabah and argued that MIC should be permitted to do the same to represent the Indian community. He also indicated that MIC might consider “joining a party” to address the welfare and needs of Indians in Sabah.
