According to sources, DAP wants it retained while PKR wants the committee, currently led by its Sungai Buloh MP, R Ramanan, dissolved.
One source said DAP did not want the committee disbanded as this would lead to deputy unity minister K Saraswathy, of PKR, being in total control of Mitra.
Another source said the party was eying chairmanship of the committee.
“The party wants the (chairman’s) post to win back the Indian support it lost following the departure of former Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy,” the source told FMT, referring to the outcome of the Penang state election last year.
Former DAP MP Ong Kian Ming previously revealed that only 43% of Indian voters in Penang cast their ballots at the state election in August last year, compared with 65% at the 15th general election in November 2022.
Ong attributed the lower turnout to the party’s decision to drop Ramasamy, a popular figure within the Indian community in Penang, as a candidate. Ramasamy eventually quit the party.
The source also said DAP was not keen on letting Saraswathy assume control by having the committee disbanded, for the same reason.
“The idea is to minimise the role of Saraswathy, who they feel could use this to strengthen PKR’s Indian base at the expense of DAP.”
Separately, speculation is rife that Jelutong MP RSN Rayer would be the front runner for the chairman’s post if DAP succeeds in convincing Putrajaya to keep the committee.
Rayer is also the chairman of the Penang Hindu Endowments Board, which has been placed under the unity ministry.
FMT has reached out to Rayer for comment.
Last month, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Mitra would head back to the unity ministry.
Mitra, which was rebranded from the Socioeconomic Development of the Indian Community Unit or Sedic in 2018, was initially under the unity ministry, but was transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department in 2022.
Sources previously claimed that the decision to place Mitra under the unity ministry and appoint Saraswathy as a deputy minister was a “ploy” to ensure a PKR leader remained in charge of the unit.
Saraswathy has denied the allegations.