Perikatan Nasional secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan has produced evidence to verify that MIC formally applied to join the coalition last year. According to him, the application was submitted via a letter from the MIC president to the then coalition chairman, Muhyiddin Yassin, on November 15.
The secretary-general explained that the coalition deliberated on the request before officially accepting the party as a member in December. He noted that while MIC was among the founders of the coalition, they had remained with Barisan Nasional at the time and subsequently applied for readmission.
Speaking to reporters at the Kelantan Pas Aidilfitri open house in Kota Baru today, he challenged any claims that an application was never made, asserting that the coalition maintains clear records of the correspondence. He added that the application was officially confirmed during a meeting on March 14, which approved the party’s entry.
Formal approval and subsequent reversal
Following the approval of the bid, the coalition issued an official letter to MIC. However, the party later issued a media statement on March 25 following its own internal meetings, stating that it would not be joining the coalition and would instead maintain its current political affiliations.
The secretary-general stated that the party’s decision to withdraw does not affect the coalition’s standing. He remarked that the coalition is sufficient with its current four member parties and noted that the party in question holds only one parliamentary seat.
He further stressed that the coalition is not an organization that can be treated lightly, comparing it to neither a commodity for sale nor a hotel. He reiterated that those wishing to join must go through a formal application process, and confirmed that several other applications from various parties are currently being processed.
Details of the readmission request
The letter at the center of the disclosure, reportedly signed by MIC president S.A. Vigneswaran, was titled Readmission into PN. It sought clarification on several key matters, including whether the reentry would be automatic and unconditional, the leadership roles the party would hold within the coalition, and the coalition’s specific agenda for the Indian community.
Recent reports suggested that the party decided to maintain its status quo within Barisan Nasional following leadership changes within the opposition coalition. Party deputy president M. Saravanan previously mentioned that the initial decision to explore cooperation was made during their annual general meeting while Muhyiddin Yassin was still leading the coalition.
Despite the back-and-forth, the coalition leadership maintains that its records are accurate and that the formal process for entry had reached its final stages before the party chose a different path.
