IPOH: Incumbent Tapah Member of Parliament Datuk Seri M. Saravanan wishes to defend the seat in the 15th General Election (GE15).

The MIC deputy president, who is also Human Resource Minister, said this was because voters in Tapah know the services and help he has given them as their MP.

"If I go to another place people would not know of my services, the people of Tapah know what I did during COVID-19 and who gave help.

"As long as the people of Tapah want me, I prefer the Tapah seat but that is subject to the approval of the party president," he told a press conference after officiating the Perak Hindu Houses of Worship Convention here today.

Previously, Johor UMNO deputy chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed had asked MIC to do a 'barter trade' if the party wanted to contest in the Pulai parliamentary seat in GE15.

Nur Jazlan, who is also Pulai UMNO chief, was reported as saying MIC under the 'barter trade" should swap Tapah with Pulai as he was confident that BN will win it in GE15 if an UMNO candidate is placed there because Malays make up the majority of voters.

Saravanan further stressed that the decision on the distribution of seats was the prerogative of Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and was thus leaving matters pertaining to this to the party leadership.

-- BERNAMA