Ti was quoted as saying that Azalina should not be making such remarks publicly as it is a political strategy that should first be discussed among Barisan Nasional’s component parties.

He said MCA had previously contested on its own ticket in the 2018 Balakong by-election with the mutual agreement of BN’s component parties.

“So this matter should be discussed internally, not in public. Such strategies need not be announced openly,” he said yesterday, according to Berita Harian.

He said there had been no talk of Umno contesting on its own ticket among the coalition’s leaders thus far.

“We have more than four years ahead to witness the progress of current politics. From my perspective, any position taken now is premature.

“It’s possible that Azalina was merely sharing her personal opinion, but it would be better if she just maintained decorum and discussed the matter internally,” he said.

Asked if he thought her remarks were a sign of Umno’s intentions to leave BN, Ti said coalition members are bound by BN’s constitution.

Earlier, MIC vice-president T Mohan said Umno was free to contest on its own ticket in any election if that would boost the party’s chances of winning.

He was quoted by Berita Harian as saying that MIC had no objections to the proposal, especially if it involved contesting in Malay-predominant seats.

However, he said BN had always upheld the concept of unity, regardless of the candidate’s ethnicity.