The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the largest ethnic Indian party in the country, has decided on a moratorium to allow it resolve the internal party crisis over elections for its central working committee, according to media reports.

“I and my deputy Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam will stand down. We will have a moratorium. I do not want the party crisis to escalate... This will give us a period of non-crisis to resolve the issues that have come up,” the Malaysin Star quoted MIC president Mr G. Palanivel as saying in a statement. The MIC is a coalition partner in Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) led by Prime Minister Mr Najib Razak.

“We will meet and decide on the next course of action that will satisfy all quarters as soon as possible,” Mr Palanivel added.

The MIC has been facing the danger of disintegration after the Registrar of Societies in December last year ordered it to re-elect its 23 CWC members and three vice-presidents. It directed the party to hold the internal elections within 90 days.

But Mr Palanivel made new appointments without prior consultation with the existing committee members and his deputy, who called the move arbitrary. The statutory body also held the appointments null and void.

The MIC president said the proposal for moratorium would allow the party members to hold discussion with the prime minister. “I agree to a moratorium to allow both sides to discuss with the Prime Minister YAB Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as chairman of BN to find the best way forward to resolve the crisis,” Palanivel said in the statement.