FORMER MIC vice-president Datuk T Mohan said Umno was aware of MIC’s dissatisfaction but had they done anything to find out the issues and resolve them through discussions with the party.
“Umno should be brave enough to ask themselves whether they have been fair to their loyal component parties. They have usurped all the benefits and left MIC to fend for themselves.
“MIC has been subservient to big bully Umno for too long and they have come to a point where they can’t tolerate it anymore.
“There are now various options available for MIC and we can fight with honour and pride intact. We did not sell ourselves like certain politicians for the own selfish interests,” he said.
He claimed that Umno was so arrogant that it even wanted to dictate on who should lead the MIC.
“MIC members have not forgotten the way certain Umno leaders treated the late Tun Samy Vellu (MIC President) after his devastating loss in the 2008 general election,” Mohan said.
Umno also does not realise that the 26 parliamentary seats they won in the last general elections was due partly to the support of Indians and Chinese to BN.
“When the Indian votes were delivered for BN, the MIC was held in high esteem and when Umno lost, MIC became the scapegoat,” he said.
This same sentiment was echoed by MIC strategic director Senator Datuk Sivaraajh Chandran who said that the collapse of Indian support for MIC was not due to internal failures, but the direct consequence of decisions, policies and missteps by Umno, which controlled the government and all major institutions.
The decline of Indian support for MIC and BN did not originate from weaknesses within the party but was caused by political errors of the Umno-led administration that held real authority in government.
As far back as the Kampung Medan tragedy in 2001, the Indian community believed they were abandoned and unfairly targeted by state agencies under federal control.
From 2007 onwards, controversies involving temple demolitions, unilateral conversions and “body-snatching” cases were managed by federal and religious authorities dominated by Umno. Although MIC protested and appealed, but final decisions rarely favoured the community, said Sivaraajh.
The massive HINDRAF rally in 2007 was not aimed solely at MIC but a direct reaction to an Umno-led government that appeared indifferent to legitimate Indian concerns.
He said MIC leaders repeatedly cautioned Umno about rising anger within the Indian community but these warnings were brushed aside as “minor issues”, and short-term political thinking prevailed over long-term stability and harmony.
Sivaraajh said, in both 2008 and 2018, Indian voters did not reject MIC but they rejected the coalition as a whole, just as Malay and Chinese voters.
He said MIC had remained loyal to BN, sacrificed seats and accepted junior partner status to ensure continued representation for Indians.
“This loyalty was used, not rewarded. Today many former critics privately acknowledge that MIC was more victim than villain, blamed for failures it did not cause and did not have the power to prevent.
“The lesson for MIC is clear, never again accept responsibility without real authority. Future partnerships must guarantee MIC genuine policymaking power on matters involving the Indian community.,” he said.
Sivaraajh said MIC has the organisational capacity, history and grassroots presence to continue providing that leadership and did the best within the limited authority it possessed.
“Responsibility for BN’s downfall lies with those who controlled the government and steered it into decline. MIC was not the architect of BN’s defeat but a mere passenger in a vehicle driven recklessly by others” he said.
Among the options for MIC is that they could join hands with Perikatan Nasional which has a strong Malay base of voters or even Pakatan Harapan with Parti Keadilan Rakyat and DAP.
But Umno will be in dire straits, having to contend with PKR, Bersatu and Pas for the Malay support.
In the end, MIC would be more willing to take their chances with coalitions which give respect to their component partners rather than bring sub servient, he added. - December 3, 2025.
