KANGAR: MIC will decide whether to support the campaign for the upcoming Mahkota by-election depending on whether a Barisan Nasional candidate is fielded.
The party's deputy president Datuk Seri M Saravanan said the decision cannot be made as BN had not conducted a meeting on the state seat polls.
"What's the point of saying we'll campaign only to find that there's no BN candidate running, especially since we see that Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) has already shown interest in contesting?"
"We will wait for the decision after the BN meeting," he told reporters after the 78th MIC Perlis Delegates Convention here, today.
Saravanan said the constituency had a significant number of Indian voters, estimated at 5,144 people.
He said therefore, they would assist in the campaigning if BN decided to field a candidate.
The Election Commission declared the Mahkota state seat vacant after its assemblyman Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain died on August 2.
They would hold a special meeting on Aug 13 to discuss the Mahkota by-election.
In the Johor state elections held in March 2022, Sharifah Azizah, who was the BN candidate, won the Mahkota seat with 16,611 votes, securing a majority of 5,166.
Amanah Kluang chief Dr Mohd Zuhan Mohd Zain said the party had previously won the Mahkota seat during the 14th general election (GE14) and contested again in the 2022 state elections.
Barisan Nasional also declared its readiness for the by-election.
Pakatan Harapan would convene in a meeting at 4pm in Putrajaya today, chaired by chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to discuss the unexpected vacancy of the seat.