When either of them are trapped between a rock and a hard place with regard to their respective allies - Umno and PAS - expect the other to open fire.

 

And now DAP has MCA’s top two leaders in its crosshairs.

 

This is over their failure to convince Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to retract his controversial statement at the cabinet meeting yesterday.

 

DAP lawmaker Teo Nie Ching urged MCA president Liow Tiong Lai and his deputy Wee Ka Siong - both of whom are cabinet ministers - to apologise and resign over their  “cowardice”.

 

“What is the use of making statements to the media and passing motions at their own closed-door meetings when the MCA president and his deputy did not even dare to demand  Ismail to retract his statement face-to-face in the cabinet?

 

“MCA's cowardliness proves that they are unfit to represent the Chinese community in Malaysia and they are only good at kowtowing to big bully Umno.

 

“To save their dignity, if they still have any, Liow and Wee should resign from their cabinet positions immediately or else stop claiming that they are representing the Chinese community in Malaysia because the Chinese community does not need this type of two-faced leaders,” she added in a statement.

 

No talk of resignation

 

Teo was referring to Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who revealed that none of the MCA or MIC cabinet members had asked their Umno colleague, Ismail, to quit.

 

Ismail had courted flak when he posted on Facebook that Malays should boycott Chinese traders, who did not reduce their prices.

 

He has since refused to apologise and accused his critics of being petty.

 

Following yesterday’s cabinet meeting, Liow claimed that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak “understood” MCA’s position on this.

 

However, a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office apparently defended Ismail, stating that the Umno minister was referring to all errant traders irrespective of race.

 

Liow also came under fire from former MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek today for not flexing his muscles.