As a Chinese, it is so sad to hear my Prime Minister resorting to such a warning that unless the Chinese vote for MCA, the Chinese will not get representation in the Government, at Cabinet level in partricular.
A May 1st headline in The Star read, "PM: It's MCA message to Chinese voters". I presume it referred to a headline in The Star the day before by the President of MCA, "Party will give up posts: MCA presidential council backs Chua's stand". The news report went further stating,
"... the decision was taken after much consideration as this was to show our respect to the electorate, especially Chinese community, hence we (MCA) will turn down any offer for government positions".
To the current Presidential Council of MCA I offer a big ‘THANK YOU'. We can finally expect to see more sense in the selection and quality of Chinese representatives in the Government.
Chinese commitment to the national development of this nation through amicable cooperation with other citizens, despite differences in religion or race, cannot be doubted.
The Alliance party was formed in 1952, more than 60 years ago. It was the dissenting decision of Selangor MCA which went ahead to co-operate with UMNO to win 12 seats in the Kuala Lumpur Municipal Elections on 16 February 1952.
This gave the Alliance Party, now known as Barisan Nasional, its first taste of coalition victory. This very significant incident caused by internal dissent of MCA was even referred to as,
"...if only the leaders in Selangor (MCA) had been more disciplined and followed the decision of top party leaders.... this could have changed the course of politics in Malaysia today".
Source: Elections and Democracy in Malaysia (2005) Putucheary M & N Othman (eds.) p. 55.
Is this a solitary incident where disobedience within the MCA and had benefited Barisan Nasional and the nation as a whole?
Still fresh on our minds is the incident of the late Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu who founded Party Gerakan out of disagreement with top leaders.
He won the Penang State on an opposition ticket and later brought Gerakan into the fold of Barisan Nasional in continuity of his commitment to a nation's development.
No one can dispute that Malaysia is where we are as a result of inter-party tolerance among the components of the Alliance Party, and now the Barisan Nasional.
How often had we watched our children or grand children playing by the beach and observed the waves approaching in changing forms.
We had often guided the young to differentiate and how to deal with waters that merely caress our toes from splashes that could blur our vision.
There are always positive changes like the tide bringing in seashells suitable for decorating sand castles.
There are also changes which the little crabs could tell that it was time to rebuild their homes. Positive change should be on our minds all the time and we must maximise on these occasions.
From 1952 to 2011 - it is the gap of one generation apart. How has MCA changed?
It only takes 50 applications to form a new MCA branch. Kota Raja, the MCA Division to which I belong has more than 30 branches. Selangor alone has 22 divisions.
MCA has presence in 13 states. The number of members and the number of branches determine the number of delegates to be appointed to represent the number of divisions in the general assembly ...the number of elected delegates....and this goes for the Youth wing... the Wanita wing ... and so on and so forth. MCA has become a numerical behemoth.
Since it is a numbers game, each member in the party has an important representative role within the party.
In theory, what strategy, form or posture and the kind of reputation the party commands in society must not fall outside the expectation of the ordinary member.
How does the current MCA leadership look at these numbers representing some 5,000 branches and their members?
In an interview of the current MCA President with Transparency International (M) on 18/2/2009, below are his exact words reported on p.86 of ‘Reforming Political Financing in Malaysia' published by Transparency International - Malaysia:
"... it is a rich party because of the dividend it receives from Star which is RM50-60 million (annually). ...for national level functions.....
For the local branch level, there's no funding from the party. You have to survive on your own - get donations from friends and supporters who believe in you, in your cause, the party ."
Soon after he took over as president in 2010, the new president challenged unhappy members to resign from the party, and promised that he would not prevent them from leaving.
This is indeed a change in the leadership style of MCA. Is this part of the change that the past presidents and their followers had advocated for?
How does the Chinese electorate look at MCA today?
Topping the list of unpopularity is the expose' of the president's extramarital tryst. Public rejection against him is reflected all over the comments fields in most online portals whenever he appears in the news.
Second on the list is his arrogance and personal interest in the party. There is also a tinge of family upbringing - that he is Chinese illiterate.
It was outright insulting to the Chinese to see the speeches of some of the current leaders of this Chinese party displayed in romanised Chinese.
Even before the fateful 2008 general elections, there had been calls to revamp the party.
Two previous presidents had positively and openly expressed their reformation plans, particularly in changing the structure of the party.
The current president's plan of action is to threaten the Chinese community that unless the Chinese vote for MCA in the next general elections, under his leadership, MCA will not accept any government positions even if offered.
Such behaviour simply signifies that he, and his top leaders in the party, do not have a clue as to how to go about it effecting these changes, nor the intention to see through reformation of the party.
There are rising queries at various quarters doubting if MCA is still relevant to the Chinese in this country.
After the 1969 Gerakan win, and the party subsequently joining Barisan Nasional, MCA was no longer the only party representing the Chinese of Malaysia. Possibly within the coalition, too, MCA's claim of being the "party of the Chinese" has become unconvincing.
It is obvious that the Barisan Nasional of today still share the same objective for the formation of the Alliance Party in 1952 viz. to form the government and be able to take the nation to development by gaining 2/3s control in the Dewan Rakyat.
UMNO / MCA Performance in BN
Seats
Source: Compiled by the author
The table above clearly indicates that BN had been consistently successful in achieving this objective since 1959, with the exception of 1969 and 2008.
The insert on MCA performance in 1999, 2004 and 2008 shows realistically how much confidence could the BN place on the current MCA to deliver contributory results in the next general elections.
One does not need to have a Ph.D in economics to understand why the Chinese in Malaysia must be counted. The question before the prime minister is how to bring back the Chinese votes for BN in order to garner 2/3 majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
I can confidently say that the Chinese community are still as committed towards national development as in 1952.
I was once a proud resident of Shah Alam; but not now, after more than three years without BN administration. No one doubts the complexity in running a nation's administration.
Even the BN, endowed with methodologies from the British, and practising administration since 1955, is still far from perfect. There is not an "auto pilot" system to hand over to the opposition should they gain majority in the next general elections.
However, between having to make a decision to give my vote to the rubbish collector who may not arrive at all, or to tell the whole world that I support an arrogant immoralist, I will still opt for the former.
My suggestion is that the Barisan Nasional should do the wise thing by opening up itself to accepting a new race-based Chinese party that can command the respect and bring home the votes of the Chinese electorate.
Dr Daphne Loke, author of 'Political Sojourn', was Special Aide to Dato' Sri Ong Tee Keat, former MCA President.
