MIC signals openness to Pakatan Harapan while maintaining support for Anwar

Tan Sri Vigneswaran confirmed that he met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last Friday to inform him of the party’s intentions. - Bernama pic, November 17, 2025


MIC signals openness to Pakatan Harapan while maintaining support for Anwar


At its annual convention, MIC indicated it is ready to explore new political alignments, including joining Pakatan Harapan, while reaffirming its commitment to support Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim until the end of his term



Sandru Narayanan
Updated 3 hours ago
17 November, 2025
8:00 AM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) has signaled its openness to joining the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition, with party president Tan Sri Vigneswaran saying the party is prepared to work with any bloc that respects its principles and ideology.

“There is no such thing as us being fixed on Perikatan Nasional. If possible, we would also like to be part of Pakatan Harapan’s key component parties,” he told reporters after MIC’s annual convention at IDCC Shah Alam yesterday.

“To be honest, we haven’t decided whether we want to join PN or PH. We are ready to work with anyone as long as they accept our principles and ideologies.”

Vigneswaran said this openness reflects MIC’s broader reassessment of its political direction as it weighs a possible exit from Barisan Nasional (BN), the coalition it co-founded with Umno and MCA more than 50 years ago.

He also confirmed that he met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last Friday to inform him of the party’s intentions.

“I spoke to him, not to negotiate seats, but to tell him we want to leave BN. He advised me to rethink because we have been with BN for a long time,” he said.

Despite exploring new political alignments, Vigneswaran reiterated that MIC remains committed to supporting Anwar until the end of his term, even if it parts ways with BN.

“Most importantly, we are in a dilemma because the prime minister himself has not committed any wrongdoing in this matter. So we are firm about supporting him for the next two years.

“We have guaranteed before that we will support Anwar through this term. That decision is still in effect.”

He stressed that MIC will not contest the next election on its own, noting that the party must join another coalition if it withdraws from BN.

However, no decision will be made until the party’s central working committee (CWC) concludes its deliberations.

Vigneswaran said delegates at yesterday’s convention unanimously passed one resolution — to defer the final decision on leaving BN to the CWC and the party president.

“We’re not playing politics. We’re just fed up with our position in BN. We made this decision to ensure any power-sharing formula is based on dignity.”

He added that BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had not been informed of the internal discussions.

Vigneswaran also said he believes MIC’s elected representatives would be able to retain their seats if the party leaves BN, pointing out that the anti-hopping law applies to individual defections, not political parties switching coalition support. – November 17, 2025

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