After Ismail, Saravanan's turn: Anwar critics in the dock amid cheers from PH supporters

MIC deputy president M Saravanan is the latest in a series of Barisan Nasional (BN) politicians to be investigated and brought to court on corruption charges, at a time when the coalition is increasingly weary of its partnership with Pakatan Harapan (PH).

The former human resources minister today pleaded not guilty to charges of accepting RM1,097,000 in bribes in exchange for approving foreign worker quotas for a company in 2022.

The charges against him come just a day after Ismail Sabri Yaakob, one of four prime ministers whose government Saravanan has served in various capacities, was slapped with a charge of failing to declare assets.

Supporters of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim have welcomed the duo’s court appearances, with PH cybertroopers celebrating their arrest through social media memes and TikTok videos.

In one such clip, a voice in Tamil mocked Saravanan over a video showing him hosting a Deepavali event attended by politicians from both sides of the divide, including Ismail and former minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

The celebratory mood in the PH camp is not surprising. Both are widely known as BN leaders who have never really agreed with their chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's move to join forces with Anwar in the aftermath of the 2022 general election.

The political headache for Anwar that Ismail ignited

Ismail's troubles with the authorities started long before February 2025, when stashes of cash and gold bars worth over RM170 million were taken from “safe houses” linked to his former aides and later forfeited by the government.

Just a year earlier, he was instrumental in raising the issue of Najib's royal pardon and a hushed-up request by the former king to allow the jailed leader to serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest.

That issue has spiralled into one of Anwar’s greatest political headaches since he came to power, and was the spark that caused a steady deterioration in his ties with Umno.

Meanwhile, Saravanan has been a staunch critic not only of PH and Anwar, but also of Zahid's efforts to topple the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government during the Covid-19 pandemic. Zahid had spearheaded a movement to overthrow Muhyiddin, just months after a leaked recording of a telephone conversation in which Anwar was heard congratulating and giving instructions to Zahid, while Zahid thanked Anwar for his moral support.

Besides Ismail, Saravanan has served as deputy minister under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Najib Razak, and as human resources minister during the PN administration led by Muhyiddin Yassin.

At the tail end of Muhyiddin's administration in 2021, when he faced pressure from both PH and Zahid's faction in Umno to step down, Saravanan and Ismail were among BN ministers who stood by the Bersatu chief, alongside another Cabinet colleague, Khairy.

But even after BN's alignment with PH, which saw Anwar appointed to the top office following the 2022 hung parliament, Saravanan has remained one of the most vocal critics of the PKR leader.

Last year, he threatened to pull MIC out of BN, claiming MIC had been cheated into backing Anwar's government. He said Zahid, the man who engineered Anwar's rise to power by bringing BN MPs' support to the PKR leader in the aftermath of the 2022 general election, had promised MIC Cabinet positions, but these were instead monopolised by DAP.

Saravanan has been at the forefront of MIC leaders venting frustrations over their party being sidelined from the so-called unity government.

Three years before Umno leaders began openly calling for withdrawing support for Anwar, it was Saravanan who issued an ultimatum that MIC would renounce its support.

Among Saravanan's grouses is that Anwar's government has failed to fulfil promises to the Indian community.

In July 2025, he took Anwar's daughter, Nurul Izzah, to task after she defended herself against criticism that her father's government has abandoned the Indian community. Nurul Izzah had then made a familiar claim that she had been working "behind the scenes" to address issues facing the community.

“So, we ask Nurul Izzah, if you are indeed working for the community, please start by disclosing what has been done or proposed on the matriculation intake issue. Let the Indian community see for themselves whether your silent efforts have translated into real, visible outcomes,” Saravanan said.

Saravanan has also been involved in a public spat with Rafizi Ramli, when the former PKR deputy president was still on good terms with Anwar.

Rafizi had accused Saravanan of failing to solve the foreign worker shortage when he was human resources minister, an issue which Saravanan addressed again in a letter to the prime minister this week to dismiss allegations against him.

Saravanan has also questioned Anwar over a number of policies affecting racial unity, including proposed guidelines that would require event organisers at non-Muslim houses of worship to get approval from Islamic authorities when inviting Muslims.

He has also urged Anwar to stop using the term “kuil haram” (illegal temples) when referring to Hindu temples involved in land disputes.

“Labelling places of worship as haram is completely insensitive and ignores their deep historical and cultural significance,” he said.

Ismail and Saravanan may not be the last BN leaders to find themselves hauled up in court. Two others, former Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim and former Najib-era Treasury secretary-general Irwan Serigar Abdullah, also appear set to be charged.

The coming days and weeks will tell whether the arrest of Anwar's critics will be able to silence growing criticism of his government, or only stir more backlash from a resurgent Umno that now appears confident of its return to power.