Indian Progressive Front (IPF) president V Pandithan said today it was "improper" for any Indian community leader to comment on Malay unity.

"There is disunity in the Indian community itself. We must solve this problem first before we talk about unity in other races," he said.

He also said IPF have been trying to seek a meeting with MIC to discuss this problem but to no avail.

(IPF has been trying to join the 14-member ruling coalition Barisan Nasional for many years now, but this effort has been consistently blocked by MIC.)

However, Pandithan said talks proposed by Umno aimed at achieving Malay unity should proceed as Malay unity is very important for the Malay community.

He said Malays form the backbone of the government and if there is no unity among them, then there will no peace in the country.

"Unity depends on the individuals, so it is up to the party whether it wants join in (the Umno proposed talks) or not," Pandithan told malaysiakini.

The Malay unity talks among Umno, PAS and Keadilan leaders were suggested by Umno last week, but Keadilan had announced its decision not to take part, while PAS said it would participate but wanted the talks to be expanded to cover national unity.

When asked about the "State of the Nation" all-party conference proposed by opposition coalition Barisan Alternatif two days ago to include all the component parties of both BA and BN, Pandithan said that the Malay unity talks should finish first, then they can proceed with the national unity talks.

"There is no point in rushing to hold a discussion on national unity now," he added.

"Malay unity talk is not a wrong thing, let's make it as the first agenda besides this national conference proposed by BA," Pandithan said.

Malaysiakini also contacted MIC Selangor women's chief Komala Krishna Moorthi, but she declined to give any comment on both topics.