MALACCA: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu is confident that MIC will return as a strong partner of the Barisan Nasional through a rebranding exercise, which will see the change of mindset among all party leaders.

He said the full support of its 630,000 members was also important in making this a reality.

"The time has come for us to change, especially in our style of work, to gain the support of the Indian community before the next general election," he said.

Speaking before officiating the state MIC convention at the Malacca International Trade Centre, he said the first move would be to get about 10 per cent of the 630,000 party members onto the electoral roll.

He said this would ensure that BN would perform better in the next general election.