The ongoing public spat between Umno supreme council Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz and his MCA counterpart continues with the former retorting arrogant subordinates need to be put in their place.

Nazri said the "big" needs to discipline "small" crew members on a ship, responding to MCA central committee Ti Lian Ker's volley yesterday.

"I am arrogant because the crew member is arrogant.

"On a ship, we need to teach discipline. That is why I would like to tell him (Ti), don't be arrogant because you are small.

"I can be arrogant because I am big, so I can teach him," the Tourism Minister told Malaysiakini.

Yesterday, Ti criticised Nazri for being "his usual arrogant self", adding that a captain of a ship wouldn't belittle their crew member and reminded the minister that he is only an "assistant" to the captain.

This was after Nazri called MCA a "small party" as it has only won a handful of seats in Parliament and told the Chinese-based party to quit BN.

'At least I won'

Nazri rocked the boat further saying although he is just an "assistant" to the captain, he could still win elections, while the same could not be said for MCA.

"I can be the assistant to the captain because I am terrer (terror, awesome). Even though I am just an assistant to the captain, the rakyat still elect me.

"But I don't know his (Ti's) background. Did he contest in the general election? If the rakyat wouldn't elect him, then don't talk big.

"I talk big because the crew member (in question) is stupid and arrogant," he said.

Nazri also slammed Ti for suggesting that he would not have been a minister without the help of component parties that had made BN strong.

He also took issue with Ti's suggestion that he stand in the next general election outside of BN.

"Why would he ask me to quit BN? I never complained, it is MCA that likes to complain and claim that Umno made them lose.

"If Umno is really to their detriment, then they should quit," he said.

Didn't need MCA help

Nazri added that he would willingly contest under Umno's logo instead of BN's if the party allowed it.

He said he won in Padang Rengas in the last general election despite a local MCA division's boycott against him.

"In 2013, Padang Rengas MCA held a press conference calling for a boycott against me in the 13th general election, yet I won big.

"Therefore I have a right to say that I won not because of MCA's support. This is a fact," he said.

The war of words between Nazri and Ti erupted after the latter last week urged Umno to abandon its "jaguh kampung" (village hero) politics.

Ti had said Umno's strategy of fear-mongering along racial and religious lines to gain Malay support in the rural areas had come at the expense of BN component parties and urban support.