Johor MIC information chief S Deva urged Nur Jazlan to “be a gentleman” and come in person to show support if Deva was chosen as the Barisan Nasional candidate.

“Johor MIC leaders dare to take on any challenges for the sake of our party members’ dignity,” Deva said in a Facebook post.

Two weeks ago, Nur Jazlan had challenged MIC deputy president M Saravanan to contest for Pulai, after being criticised for saying that Umno could no longer depend on MIC and MCA at the general election.

Deva also took a shot at Nur Jazlan, saying he had failed to defend the Pulai parliamentary seat in the 2018 general election because of his poor service to the constituency.

“I am a son of Kampung Pulai and have been living here for the past 25 years, compared to Nur Jazlan who hails from Selangor and lives in Kuala Lumpur,” said Deva.

He said Nur Jazlan rarely visited his constituency and was only present during elections.

Nur Jazlan, a three-term MP for Pulai, lost the seat to Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub in May 2018.