An MIC source said party leaders met last Sunday and decided that the BN candidate for the January 26 by-election would be from Umno this time. ― Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

IPOH, Jan 8 — The delay in Barisan Nasional (BN) naming its candidate for the upcoming Cameron Highlands by-election is due to negotiations between Umno and MIC for the Malay party to contest there.

MIC’s central working committee is scheduled to hold a meeting today on the matter, a party insider told Malay Mail, after the Indian party’s secretary-general Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari yesterday said there had been no request from Umno to field its candidate there.

The MIC source said leaders from the two parties met last Sunday and decided that the BN candidate for the January 26 by-election would be from Umno this time — breaking with convention that has seen the Indian party contest and win the Pahang parliamentary seat since 2004.

“Several big names from Umno, including the party’s acting president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, have been named to contest the seat,” said the MIC source privy to the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source said as part of the negotiations, MIC was offered a senatorial position when the term for one of the Pahang BN senators expired.

According to the source, the negotiations came about because the BN leadership was aware it would only be able to retain Cameron Highlands in the by-election if MIC vice-president Datuk C. Sivarraajh contested.

“BN knew that if it introduced a new MIC candidate, it would not be able to garner Malay votes following several issues, including the death of firefighter Muhammad Adib Mohd Kasim, which sparked racial tension.

“However, if Sivarraajh was eligible to contest, then it’s altogether a different matter, as the Malays and also the Orang Asli in the constituency know him and the service he has done for the people,” the MIC insider said.

“Sivarraajh also had a good relationship with PAS during his time in office, which is also the reason why the Islamic party is willing to support MIC in the first place.

“However, with his absence, I’m sure PAS would be comfortable supporting an Umno candidate following their newfound cooperation.”

The insider also said Umno has a good chance of winning the seat as it could secure a majority of votes in the Jelai constituency, as the state seat is currently held by Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, who is also the Pahang mentri besar.

“While for DAP, who rely heavily on Chinese and Indian votes, it could face some problem as most of the Chinese voters from Tanah Rata have settled outside Cameron Highlands and it’s a big question mark whether they will come back to vote.”

The Cameron Highlands parliamentary constituency covers two state seats: Jelai and Tanah Rata. Jelai’s constituents are majority Malay while Tanah Rata voters are a mix of Chinese, Malays, non-Malay Bumiputera and Indian.

The source also said this is also the reason DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang called MIC to quit BN if Umno were to contest the seat.

“He knows that if Umno contested the seat, it would surely win and DAP would not stand a chance; therefore, he is indirectly telling MIC to not give away the seat to them,” the source said, referring to Lim.

The source said Umno has an agreement with MIC to give back Cameron Highlands in GE15, but that its priority now is to ensure a BN victory in the by-election.

“MIC leadership is willing to let go of its traditional seat to Umno as contesting and losing the seat will allow Umno to take advantage in the following election,” said the source.

On June 4 last year, DAP candidate M. Manogaran filed a petition seeking a declaration that the outcome of the 14th general election on May 9 for the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat held by Sivarraajh was null and void for flouting the General Elections Act 1954.

On December 28, the Election Commission announced that Sivarraajh was ineligible to contest the by-election.

In GE14, Sivarraajh secured the seat by garnering 10,307 votes, beating Manogaran of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) with 9,710 votes.

While Wan Mahadir Wan Mahmud of PAS had polled 3,587 votes, Mohd Tahir Kassim of Berjasa (81 votes) and B. Suresh Kumar of Socialist Party of Malaysia (680 votes).

Nominations for the by-election is on January 12, early voting on January 22 and polling on January 26.