KUALA LUMPUR: MIC claims that it made an application at a Barisan Nasional Supreme Council meeting to have a representative in the unity government cabinet.
MIC president Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran said BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said he would consider the request.
However, he said, the opposite happened when there was no MIC representative appointed as a minister.
"No, we didn't even ask for (the ministerial post). This is up to the prime minister's discretion.
"It's just that when we talked with BN, they (the leadership) did say that they would consider it.
"But when the list (of ministers) came out, we did not get any post. We don't have a problem because we did not demand for a post either," he told BH today.
Vigneswaran said MIC complied with the decision despite not being given a post in the cabinet.
MIC had a poor outing in the 15th General Election, winning only one out of 10 seats contested.
Vigneswaran said MIC did not even care for the position of a deputy minister.
"We made this decision (not to demand for posts) because we decided to follow the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
"So we did not have to ask for any (position). There is no problem."
In that regard, he hoped that the ministers appointed, especially among Indians, would be focused and work hard for the community.
"It doesn't matter which party the Indian minister represents. We have high hopes that the welfare of Indians will be protected and given due attention," said Vigneswaran.
In the 27 cabinet line-up unveiled yesterday by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the sole Indian representative is V. Sivakumar.
The Pakatan Harapan/DAP member of parliament from Batu Gajah has been appointed as the new human resources minister.