by Dr Chris Anthony
23rd October 2012
MCA’s 59th annual general assembly began with high spirits and hopes. Adopting the motto “MCA can deliver” and “Battle without fear”, the delegates tried their best to put up a brave front and display great confidence of victory in the coming most crucial and decisive 13GE. But to many Malaysians who are following the political developments in the country, it was nothing but a great ‘sandiwara’ to try and regain MCA’s rapidly losing support among the Chinese.
There were three excesses that we witnessed at the just concluded MCA General Assembly which goes to show how desperate and jittery the party is with the approaching 13GE which many believe could give a fatal blow to the 63 year old second largest component in the BN,resulting in its demise.These were :
1.Excessive praise for Najib to the extent of idolizing him as though he is the de facto MCA president and savior of the party in the coming crucial 13GE.
2. Excessive attacks on the Pakatan Rakyat for its alledged “failures” in the states under its rule which showed the deep- seated fear for the opposition. People on the ground, including MCA members themselves, especially in Penang and to a certain extent Selangor know the ability of the Pakatan governments in administering the states under their care.
3.Excessive anti-Hudud and anti-Islamic state rhetoric to create fear among Chinese in particular and the non-Muslims in general. The MCA president went to the extent of saying that under the Hudud laws imposed in the Islamic state set up by Pakatan, the Muslims will be permitted to rape non-Muslim women.
The attack on, Mursyidul Am, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, a righteous and highly respected man for allegedly instigating rape of non-Muslim women is not only a blatant lie but illustrates arrogance and rudeness at the highest level.It shows nothing but a total disrespect for a simple,honest and righteous elderly man who is revered by many, Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
Will the MCA fare better after the general assembly? Has it succeeded in winning back the Chinese support with its fear tactics of an Islamic state and Hudud laws? What will be the effects on Malay voters who make up the majority in nearly all the ‘safe’ constituencies contested by MCA representatives? Will their attacks on Hudud and Islam go down well with them?
To my mind the MCA came out worse than they were before. Not only the Chinese have lost the little faith they had in it to represent them in the government but it has also lost the very vital Malay support needed to remain in power within the BN. Umno, being insecure itself, may be reluctant to allow them their ‘safe’ seats to contest for fear of losing the seat.
These desperate tactics together with change of the color of their attire at the assembly from its traditional white to blue makes this general assembly a mockery of MCA as the legitimate representative of the Chinese community. Nothing was said about how MCA is going to address the many urgent problems facing the Chinese, non-Muslims and the nation in general. Nothing was discussed about the rampant corruption that is driving the country to bankruptcy, the increasing racial and religious animosity that is threatening the peace and harmony we have toiled to build together and the open disregard for the laws and blatant abuse of power by those entrusted with it.
In fact the MCA General Assembly may have struck the final nail to its coffin as to most Malaysians, the MCA has become irrelevant, so is Gerakan, MIC and to some extent Umno. The demise of these race based parties may be a blessing in disguise as we need multi-racial parties to move forwards to survive in a globalized and highly competitive world.