Leaders must be selected, based on their ability, capability and credibility to serve the Indian community, he said.
"Just because you are from the lower caste, doesn't mean you cannot hold position in MIC. Are you to be condemned forever?
"No. MIC must be a modern progressive party which adopts to changes and not be too carried away by the caste system to choose the leaders.
"We should look at him...is he the best leader for the Indian community? If he is the best leader, doesn't matter where he comes from.
"In Umno, we don't practise that. In Umno, there are a son of rubber tapper, son of nelayan (fisherman) jadi (becoming) menteri besar, ada anak petani jadi menteri (we have a farmer's son becoming minister), that is social mobility.
"We want social mobility in this country and that is important for the Indian community," he said in his speech at the MIC 64th General Assembly here Sunday.
Najib also called on the MIC to emulate the "changes" taking shape in Umno now.
"This is what I mean, change. Umno is changing, you must also change together, we changed for the better. And I promise, as prime minister, I will be fair to all the communities," he said in his speech at the MIC's 64th General Assembly here today.
Najib, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, was confident that MIC could deliver, if the party was willing to change with the times and also recognised the signals of the Indian community.
"What are the signals of the Indian community? That, you have to ask yourself, I don't want to speak on behalf of the Indian community," he said.
He also gave a word of advice to MIC leaders to refrain from internal politics as it could destroy the party.
"Don't get carried away with MIC politics. Internal politics will only destroy MIC. If you realise that, and you realise that you need to serve the Indian community better, then MIC will be the stronger and more respected party," he said.
The prime minister also reminded MIC leaders to solve their party leadership woes in a way that could strengthen the party, and not destroy it.
Najib also reminded delegates about the past history of the late Tun V. T. Sambanthan and Tan Sri V. Manickavasagam who also faced leadership problems which split the party.
"We cannot afford that anymore. As we move forward to the 13th General Election, you have to resolve your leadership problem in a way that strengthens MIC, not destroys MIC.
"I don't want to interfere, I don't have the solutions. You find the solutions that strengthen the leadership of MIC but don't fight and destroy MIC.
"That is my plea to you...choose your leadership to make MIC better, stronger and more respected by the Indian community," he said, adding that the party should also be more inclusive and work together with 'good' Indian NGOs (non-governmental organisations) in order to fulfil the Indian needs.
"I underlined the 'good' Indian NGOs. Work with them, don't exclude them. Be more inclusive with the good Indian NGOs.
"If I can work with them, why can't MIC work with them? Work with them, serve the Indian community," added the prime minister.
Meanwhile, Najib, who is also Umno president, stressed that all BN component parties should carry out the respective post-mortems to gauge their strengths and weaknesses, following their dismal performance in the last general election.
"We must rebuild our strength and overcome our weaknesses to enable us to emerge stronger in the next general election," he said.
Najib also praised the MIC as a BN component party which has remained loyal to the coalition, and had gone through 12 general elections along with the other partners, garnering the support of the Indian community for, initially, the Alliance and then the BN.
"The MIC has been a part of the political landscape of the country since it was set up 64 years ago. It will only be appropriate for me, as the BN chairman and on behalf of my BN colleagues, to acknowledge the MIC in the context of support for the Alliance and the BN all this while," he said.
Najib also acknowledged the role of the MIC in shaping the Indian community in the country, especially in the education sector and in terms of economic opportunities.
For example, he said, the Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) was a good initiative of the MIC to help the community in the field of education.
MIED scholarships have helped to produce many doctors, engineers and lawyers from the Indian community, he said.
Najib also acknowledged the contributions of MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu to the party, the BN and the government, saying that when he was a member of the Cabinet, he had tirelessly raised issues and problems related to the Indian community.
The prime minister praised the determination displayed by Samy Vellu in setting up the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) in Kedah.
"Not every political party can establish a university. We have to recognise that," he said.
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