MIC leader Datuk C. Sivarraajh predicts that race-based politics will still continue to dictate the outcome of the next few national polls. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 ― Race-based politics are not as bad as they seem as they are motivated by nationalism, MIC leader Datuk C. Sivarraajh said.

The Youth wing chief of MIC ― a political party established exclusively for local ethnic Indians here ― predicted that race-based politics would still continue to dictate the outcome of the next few national polls.

He added that this would mean that MIC can, therefore, still make a comeback in the political arena.

“Saying that MIC will never ever be able to make a come back is impossible. I feel that depends largely on how the party is going to react and rebuild after the lost in the last general election,” the Cameron Highlands MP told Malay Mail in an exclusive interview.

“I totally acknowledge that the youths today have shows the tendency to [reject] race-based policies, but I believe that race-based politics is not as bad as it's being portrayed,” he said.

Sivarraajh pointed out that despite championing inclusivity, Umno-splinter Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) and DAP still remained parties that were largely dominated by one race ― Malay and ethnic Chinese respectively.

“To be honest, I still somehow believe that race-based politics will play a role in the next elections. It is not due to politics solely, but due to the deep-rooted sense of nationalism among many ordinary Malaysians,” he said.

Sivarraajh however said that there is a need for a more “middle-path based politics”, which he would be continuously advocating for.

“Thus I would rather believe that the need for the party today is to revive and repackage its course and direction over the years accordingly,” he added.