MIC: Camerons seat still ours
However, Umno is also likely to field its candidate
PETALING JAYA: The MIC says it will not give up its right to contest the Cameron Highlands seat amid talk that Barisan Nasional may field an Umno candidate for the parliamentary by-election.
MIC president Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran said the party traditionally contested the seat.
“The seat is still ours, according to tradition. There is no tussle (between Umno and MIC).
“The MIC central working committee has pledged to do all to win the by-election, and we will leave it to Barisan to make the announcement.
“Barisan cannot afford another defeat and we have conveyed our concerns to the coalition,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Vigneswaran, who is the Dewan Negara president, said the MIC was “recalibrating” its strategies to face the by-election.
Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohammad Hassan, who is handling the duties of the president, said statements by Umno leaders that the party would contest the by-election were made on a personal basis.
“It is not the party’s stand,” he said yesterday.
Umno supreme council member Tan Sri Noh Omar had said that an Umno candidate stood a better chance than the MIC of winning the seat.
Noh maintained that Umno was the better choice.
“But in the spirit of Barisan, we accept whatever decision is made by our leaders,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Barisan is set to announce its candidate today.
Pakatan Harapan has confirmed that the DAP’s M. Manogaran will contest the by-election on Jan 26.
MyPPP will be fielding its president Tan Sri M. Kayveas.
Nomination has been fixed for Saturday.
The Cameron Highlands seat was ordered to be vacated by the Election Court on Nov 30 after it nullified the victory of MIC Youth chief Datuk C. Sivarraajh in the May 9 general election due to corrupt practices.
The Election Commission has deemed Sivarraajh as ineligible to contest the by-election.
Meanwhile, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said visits by ministers to Cameron Highlands should not be misconstrued as campaigning.
He said his visit there on Monday was to resolve transportation issues faced by residents “and not to campaign”.
“We cannot stop our programmes just because of the by-election. We did not promise them any new project or entice them to support our candidate.
“I deliberately asked our candidate not to turn up during my visit,” the DAP national organising secretary said here yesterday.
It was reported that among the government leaders who visited Cameron Highlands recently were Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran, Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P. Waytha Moorthy, Loke and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang.