Melaka Polls: MIC for Gadek! MIPP?
MELAKA: Ahead of candidate nominations on October 31 for the Melaka State Assembly election, MIC leaders have confirmed that the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) will contest the Gadek state constituency.
MIC has already completed its initial groundwork in Gadek, an incumbent seat. In recent days, MIC National President Tan Sri S. A. Vigneswaran and Deputy President Datuk Seri M. Saravanan visited Melaka to oversee campaign preparations. However, it remains unconfirmed whether the party will re-nominate incumbent assemblyman Datuk P. Shanmugam or field a new candidate.
MIC President Vigneswaran noted that while MIC is contesting a single seat in Melaka, party machinery across all branches will actively campaign across other constituencies to consolidate Indian voter support for Barisan Nasional.
Meanwhile, questions surround the electoral strategy of the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP), an affiliate of Perikatan Nasional (PN). In previous state elections in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, MIPP was allocated seats. However, because the Registrar of Societies (RoS) has suspended Perikatan Nasional, MIPP cannot use its coalition logo in the Melaka polls, leaving its candidacy and symbol in question.
Read more:
Melaka State Election campaign coincides with Deepavali Celebrations
With Barisan Nasional repeatedly saying it will defend all 21 seats it previously won, a seat-sharing agreement between BN and PN coalition parties seems unlikely. If an electoral arrangement is reached based on the UMNO formula, PN can contest only the remaining 7 seats, of which DAP holds 4 and Amanah 1.
Amid these developments, speculation has centred on the Bemban state constituency as a potential seat for MIPP. In the 2021 state election, Bersatu won Bemban by a narrow margin of 328 votes over Barisan Nasional’s candidate (3,883 votes) and Pakatan Harapan’s candidate (3,095 votes).
However, the newly formed Parti Wawasan Negara, led by former Bersatu leader Hamzah Zainudin, has announced its intention to contest both Bemban and Sungai Udang seats.
Bemban holds one of the highest concentrations of Indian voters among Melaka’s 28 state constituencies, with a demographic breakdown of approximately 60.5% Malay, 21.1% Chinese, and 17.3% Indian voters. Given the significant Indian electorate, political observers suggest PN could allocate Bemban to MIPP, though Parti Wawasan Negara and MIPP have not finalised an official decision.
Even if MIPP is allocated the Bemban seat, or any other seat, in the Melaka state assembly elections under the PN seat arrangement, the party’s next challenge would be deciding which symbol to contest. Running under the PAS symbol may sway away Indian and Chinese voters. Contesting under its own symbol may not be a strategic choice either.
If the BN-PN electoral pact comes through, it will not be a surprise if MIPP choose to contest under the BN symbol.
