By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
The Malay Mail Online
December 22, 2013
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — MCA is unlikely to succeed with planned reforms to win back the Chinese community so long as Barisan Nasional (BN) lynchpin Umno continues to thrive on communal politics, said two political analysts.
Despite the winds of change blowing through the party that yesterday elected a new line-up of leaders, they said Umno’s dominance over government policies meant it was difficult for MCA to shake its seemingly subservient role to the Malay nationalist party that has disenchanted its traditional support base.
Since reinforcing its position by winning 88 of the 133 federal seats the coalition managed to retain in Election 2013, Umno has also gained a stranglehold over country’s administration by controlling 17 of the 25 ministerial posts in the government.
“Reform in MCA is dependent on Umno,” Prof James Chin, a political analyst with Monash University, told The Malay Mail Online yesterday.
“The reform would only go as internal party reform and not government policies,” Chin said of MCA’s planned transformation.
In yesterday’s party polls, MCA delegates voted in a new line of leadership in an election that is meant to resuscitate the ailing party and restore its former glory as Malaysia’s main Chinese party.
Some 2,300 delegates elected Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai as president and former Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong as his deputy, both of whom are among the only seven MCA candidates that survived an opposition onslaught in the May 5 polls that saw its remaining 27 federal candidates were annihilated.
Liow had campaigned for the presidency on “meaningful and effective reforms” necessary to prevent the party from “fading into oblivion” and allow MCA to have the last word on matter affecting the Chinese community.
His victory yesterday also closed another chapter on MCA’s chronic infighting, ending a months-long feud with outgoing president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
This issue was highlighted by political analyst Khoo Kay Peng, who said MCA must first rid itself of factional politics if it plans to reform, noting that the warring camps were more interested in positions and their privileges than achieving change.
But Khoo said even if MCA were genuine in its desire for reform, its success would be dependent on Umno discarding the communal politics that seen as a major cause of the Chinese rejection of BN and the MCA.
“All the BN component parties will have to go back to the BN platform… MCA has to tell Umno that it must go back to fighting for the interests of all and not just the Malays.
“If Umno goes back to its BN principle of inclusiveness, it can get the support of the Chinese back,” Khoo told The Malay Mail Online.
Khoo noted that, in 1999, Umno and BN had survived a Malay voter backlash that followed the sacking of then deputy prime minister and current Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the back of Chinese support.
When opening MCA’s assembly yesterday, Umno president and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at least was cognisant of the damage friendly fire from his party could do wreak on MCA.
“Especially Umno, we should not say things that hurt the feelings of the Chinese. This is not rocket science. If we want to uphold harmony, we cannot hurt the feelings of others and others should not hurt our feelings,” he said when reminding the various communities to be mindful of unseen boundaries when pressing their interests.
But gorged on its relative success in Election 2013 that saw most of its other allies lose ground, analysts believe Umno was unlikely to change its ways.
Since the May 5 polls, sections of the party have become bolder in calling for the Malay community to be rewarded for its support during Election 2013 and for others to be ostracised for failing to vote BN.
Although corruption and economic issues were credited with the urban vote going against BN, Umno leaders had sought to frame the result as a “Chinese tsunami”; at its annual general assembly earlier this month, delegates even suggested for “1 Melayu” to replace Putrajaya’s “1 Malaysia” and for the government to sideline the Chinese for voting against the ruling coalition.
Pointing to these and MCA’s perceived reluctance to confront Umno, Chin said it was clear why reforming MCA alone will not regain the Chinese vote for BN.
“You can see, the Chinese have completely abandoned MCA. There’s no point for reform,” he said.
Chin was also less than charitable about MCA’s professed intention to reform.
Just like others in BN parties, he said the second-largest component party was wracked by factionalism and warring camps made of self-serving leaders interested only in positions.
“The MCA polls is not about reform. It is about who is the successor to Soi Lek. Nothing more than that”.
The party’s political fortunes has been on a decline since 2008 but eyes continue to watch developments at the head of the party as it entails control over the billions of ringgit in assets and shares that include Malaysia’s best-selling English language newspaper, The Star.
Agreed. MCA’s reforms are no more than old wine in a new bottle. It risks fading into oblivion after GE14. MCA could have negotiated with Umno a power sharing arrangement similar to that of Pakatan Raykat before going for reforms – this will help save the party. Unfortunately, its self-serving leaders are more interested in positions rather than achieving real change.
The question really is why MCA refuses to do what is obvious to everyone else. Survey after survey shows that only 10% of their constituent will vote for them. Why hang on and stubborn fight for something that is failing and will end eventually? Why not a shred of dignity and self-respect?
The truth is we Chinese in history have always allowed scoundrels and their bumpkins followers to take control of our politics from time to time. We are not inventors of democracy nor modern govt administration. Even our successes in the second half of the 20th century and recently are based on a version of Western govt – an economic driven but interventionist/assisted by govt. But the fact is our choice of govt participation in our economic and private lives, we did not design anything so that those powers were limited, were accountable and subservient to us because we too often fail in our relationship to each other, we fail to society ourselves over the new challenges i.e., the very origin of the power of idea of divide and conquer and hence allowing these scoundrels and bumpkins to take over that missing society.
Blame MCA all you want, its largely irrelevant – but if we fail to build society among ourselves, then these cynical underserving over-self-profitted will not only be around, they do much better than the rest of us, even without our participation.
DON’T UNDER estimate d strength n get-rich will of 1 million MCA members
They r keen supporters of UmnoB n its abang Perkosa, n die2 must support UmnoB n Perkosa
They r willing partners of UmnoB n Perkosa kaki
So WHAT if occasionally UmnoB n Perkosa kaki hentam non-Malays n ask them 2 balik 2 where their ancestors came fr
So WHAT if their children n grandchildren r discriminated in education n employment
They die2 must n willingly accept their serf status in exchange 4 some corrupt CRUMBS fr their masters 2 prosper BETTER than other non-Malays here
Ppl must not assume dat ALL non-Malays r AGAINST apartheid racist n corrupt UmnoB (supervised by Perkosa)
1 million MCA members r a FORCE 2 b reckoned with, die2 MUST ensure d apartheid racist n corrupt UmnoB (supervised by Perkosa) remain in power in i-Melayu-1st M’sia
Now, with d newly-elected management team, 1 million MCA members r happy, looking forward 2 a prosperous 2014 esp after MCA kaki get back in2 d cabinet again
PornoSnake may not b up there but tow-truck gal 拖车姐 n d likes know more happi hours r here again n d cash machine goes ka ching, ka ching, ka ching ……….. faster, sweet n bountiful
Expect more 2 bcome Teapot
DON’T UNDER estimate d strength n get-rich will of 1 million MCA members
They r keen supporters of UmnoB n its abang Perkosa, n die2 must support UmnoB n Perkosa
They r willing partners of UmnoB n Perkosa kaki
So WHAT if occasionally UmnoB n Perkosa kaki hentam non-Malays n ask them 2 balik 2 where their ancestors came fr
So WHAT if their children n grandchildren r discriminated in education n employment
They die2 must n willingly accept their serf status in exchange 4 some corrupt CRUMBS fr their masters 2 prosper BETTER than other non-Malays here
Ppl must not @ssume dat ALL non-Malays r AGAINST apartheid racist n corrupt UmnoB (supervised by Perkosa)
1 million MCA members r a FORCE 2 b reckoned with, die2 MUST ensure d apartheid racist n corrupt UmnoB (supervised by Perkosa) remain in power in i-Melayu-1st M’sia
Now, with d newly-elected management team, 1 million MCA members r happy, looking forward 2 a prosperous 2014 esp after MCA kaki get back in2 d cabinet again
PornoSnake may not b up there but tow-truck gal 拖车姐 n d likes know more happi hours r here again n d cash machine goes ka ching, ka ching, ka ching ……….. faster, sweet n bountiful
Expect more 2 bcome Teapot, plagiarised version or not
They voted Liow in to wind up the MCA. That’s just about it. This kid haven’t a clue as to what to do. And he is a pushover for UMNO. RIP MCA.
Najiv already admitted these MCA men as impotent men. That is why he suggested the viagara for these men.
Reform or Deform? That depends on what they have in-between those pants, really! Don’t expect the answer to begin with the letter “M” for which those in the MCA are not known to. It’s more likely to start with the letter “T” as such!
Can LTL do any better than CSL you think? The first thing he had in mind was to get back into the cabinet to be the next Transport Minister. Remember his famous lies and the shivering goosebumps phrase “My beloved Prime Minister” that is enough to cause erection of the papillae without the needs for ‘political’ viagra? At least, CSL did not have to stoop so low as that!
I hate to think what this LTL isn’t capable of doing when it comes to his personal interests.
Viagara is of no use to dead parts or parties.