Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz wants MIC to hand over all six state seats in Perak that the party lost in the last general election, saying the BN could lose the state should MIC re-contest in those constituencies.

In the second part of an interview with Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau published today, Nazri said if the candidates for next general polls are selected based on ‘winnablity’, as declared by  Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, MIC should not contest in these seats.

The MP for Padang Rengas, Perak, said the ethnic Indian party had lost all six state seats it contested in Perak in the last general election, and these seats could cause BN to return the Perak state government to Pakatan Rakyat in the next polls.

NONE Nazri ( right ) pointed out that BN’s defeat in Perak was due to the then-prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who had fielded too many outsiders to contest in the state.

Fielding ‘paratroopers’ who has never served the constituency was a complete mistake, Nazri added, and this was the same reason that Najib stressed on selecting candidates with higher winnability.

The outspoken minister also said that holding the posts of party leaders does not guarantee a seat in the general election.

He quoted MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek as an example. Despite the support from party members to elect Chua as president, it does not necessarily follow that Chua would be supported by female voters due to his sex DVD scandal.

“Don’t think that winning the party polls will guarantee your victory in the general election.”

In the first part of the interview published yesterday, Nazri had ruffled the feathers of MCA and Gerakan leaders by describing MCA as a " neglected wife " of Umno, and Gerakan as a party without grassroots.

MCA leaders had slammed Nazri for going against the spirit of 1Malaysia, while Gerakan secretary-general Teng Chang Yeow had threatened to quit BN.

According to another report by Nanyang Siang Pau , Teng said “it is time to consider whether Gerakan should continue to stay in BN”, describing Nazri’s remark as “idiotic” and “ignorant”.