He said BN has not received any official notification of MIC’s withdrawal and that ties between the coalition and the party leadership remained strong.

“I am confident MIC is still with BN. No such issue has been raised, nor has it been discussed in any of our meetings.

“To date, we have not received any credible reports suggesting that they are leaving or staying, for that matter. We do not treat such talk as a reliable source,” he told reporters after the BN Supreme Council meeting today.

The meeting was chaired by BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. Also present were Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah president Arthur Joseph Kurup and MCA deputy president Dr Mah Hang Soon.

Zambry said the absence of MIC representatives at today’s BN Supreme Council meeting was simply due to a scheduling conflict.

“BN always maintains good faith in our cooperation. There may be rumours circulating, but we regard that purely as speculation,” he said.

He also announced that the council had appointed Kurup as the new Sabah BN chairman, with Umno’s Jafry Ariffin serving as his deputy.