Malaysian Indian Congress fails to increase tally

The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) failed to increase its tally of parliamentary seats in general elections in the southeast Asian country held Sunday.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition won 133, down from 138 it had won in the last elections in 2008. The opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition won 89 seats, local media reported Monday.

Despite a much anticipated increase in support from the Indian community, the MIC won just four seats, the same number it had won in the last elections.

The MIC is one of the three major constituents of the BN, the other two being the United Malays National Organisation and the Malaysian Chinese Association.

Ethnic Indians comprise a little over seven percent of Malaysia's total population of nearly 30 million.