In a statement, Rajasekaran said the Barisan Nasional component respected the voters’ choice during the recent general election (GE15), which saw MIC win only one seat.

“MIC has agreed not to accept any deputy minister’s posts. May the prime minister carry out his duty and responsibility well and fairly for all in Malaysia,” he said.

He reiterated that MIC was backing the unity government led by Anwar Ibrahim as decreed by the King.

MIC’s sole MP in the Dewan Rakyat is its deputy president, M Saravanan, who won the Tapah seat.

Previously, he was the human resources minister in Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Cabinet.

Recently, Pakatan Harapan secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said MIC vice-president C Sivaraj could have a role in the government after withdrawing his candidacy in the Padang Serai election.

It was reported that Sivaraj was allegedly offered the post of a senator in return for withdrawing from the Padang Serai contest. There was speculation that he could be given a deputy minister’s post.