KUALA LUMPUR, May 31- The long-awaited proposal to merge all Indian-based parties under the MIC needs compromise and sacrifice to ensure it works in unison towards a common goal, said political analysts.
While remaining cautious on the move, they said this attempt to unite the Indians was tantamount to a protracted approach to solve the community’s long-standing woes.
Besides MIC, the others are Indian Progressive Front set up in 1990; Malaysian Indian United Party launched in 2007; Malaysian Makkal Sakti Party; and, other minor parties like Malaysian Ceylonese Congress and the Punjabi Party of Malaysia.
Associate Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian (photo) of Universiti Sains Malaysia said the best commitment could only be reached if all parties worked closely to uplift the Indian community from its current status.
“The current political landscape has changed, and maybe, that is why the MIC has mooted the idea to merge. These parties should not look at each other as a threat…rather, how to fulfill the needs and demands, and adopting a new mindset of the Indian community,” he told Bernama here today.
With every party having its own philosophy, the idea to merge needed to be studied in detail to ensure continuous support from the people in the future, he suggested.
Last Friday, MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel had stated that the party would be initiating discussions with Barisan Nasional (BN)-friendly Indian parties to discuss how it could collectively contribute towards the development and progress of the Indian community.
Meanwhile, Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria, the principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), said the talk of a merger among Indian political parties had come a “little too late” since Umno and Gerakan leaders were moving towards a single multi-ethnic party from the current ethnic-based.
“The discussion should not be with selected parties, but also other BN-friendly political parties, as well,” he suggested. Denison also cautioned that combining the strength of the Indian-based parties under a single entity would not necessarily bring positive changes to the BN.
– BERNAMA
