Pix by Aswadi Alias
KUALA KUBU BARU: Perikatan Nasional's (PN) decision to form a coalition with the Malaysian Indian People Party (MIPP) will pose no impact on the unity government, says Datuk R. Ramanan.
The deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives minister said MIPP serves only as a "window dressing" to show that PN champions the Indian community.
"We can see that there is a mushrooming of political parties when there is dissatisfaction within a party, the individuals will go out and form a new party to oppose the prior party.
"So in the case of MIPP joining PN, there would be no impact whether positive or negative.
"They (MIPP) are only there for window dressing," he said after a Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra) engagement session with the Indian Community, here, today.
Ramanan was joined by Mitra chairman P. Prabakaran who is also Batu member of Parliament (MP), Special Officer to the Selangor Menteri Besar for the Indian Community Dr Gunaraj George who is also the Sentosa assemblyman and Special Officer to the Prime Minister on Special Affairs Shanmugan Mookan.
He claimed that PN is a party which does not champion the Indian community.
Commenting on PH's cooperation with MIC, Ramanan said it has been good so far with the latter already opening an operations centre in Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB).
The Election Commission has set May 11 for the KKB by-election following the death of its assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong on March 21.
KKB is a mixed seat, with Malays comprising 50 per cent of the electorate, followed by Chinese (30 per cent) and Indians (18 per cent).
The state seat has been represented by an ethnic Chinese assemblyman since 2004.
The unity government has decided to field DAP's Pang Sock Tao.
During the engagement session, multiple booths were opened including that from Mitra, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, the National Entrepreneurial Group Economic Fund (Tekun Nasional), Social Security Organisation (Socso) and the Development of Human Resources for Rural Areas (DHRRA) among others.
