Voting for the BN, including MCA candidates, is better than supporting the DAP, said Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali.

Ibrahim said that even the Malay rights NGO’s rebuke of MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek over his hudud remarks was not “fundamental” enough a reason to oppose the BN party.

“We have to choose between BN or Pakatan Rakyat. After weighing everything, we conclude that MCA is better than DAP in many aspects.

“(Our statement on Chua’s remark) is more of a reminder. MCA leaders can state their opinion, and when we disagree we issue a reminder but that does not mean we are enemies,” Malay-language daily Sinar Harian quoted him as saying.

Speaking at the Selangor Perkasa extraordinary general meeting in Shah Alam yesterday, Ibrahim added that MCA began airing critical opinions on hudud as DAP kept raising the matter.

“Maybe MCA had to speak against hudud to maintain its Chinese support, but no MCA leader has said ‘over my dead body’ about this, while DAP leaders have said so.

“In fact, MCA has for a long time accepted Umno’s leadership but DAP does not accept PAS’ leadership and intention to form an Islamic nation. This is how DAP differs from MCA,” he said.

He also urged all Perkasa members to galvanise support for BN candidates, be it from the MCA, MIC or other component parties.  

‘Haram to vote MCA’

The EGM, held at the UiTM campus, was officially opened by Selangor BN deputy liaison chief Noh Omar.

Last week, Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali said that it is “ haram (forbidden) for Muslims in Perkasa to back those who malign Islam”.

He said while Perkasa members will not vote for PKR or DAP, Chua’s statement may cause the NGO’s members to boycott MCA candidates at the polls.

“They may feel: ‘It is haram for me to choose MCA as MCA maligns my religion, so why should I even vote?’,” he told Malaysiakini.

Syed Hassan was commenting on Chua’s allegation that 1.2 million Malaysians will lose their jobs if PAS manages to implement hudud in Malaysia. 

Citing a text message he received from someone he did not know, the MCA president said affected industries include the gaming and spa industries.

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