MCA is moving away from mainstream politics and is losing its role in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, said a researcher.

Speaking at a forum in Kuala Lumpur last night, New Era College researcher Phoon Wing Keong cited the latest nationwide campaign by MCA, 'the life long learning campaign', as an example.

"This campaign is the party's move to escape from politics," he told the 100-odd audience.

He said the Chinese-based MCA, which is the second largest party in the ruling coalition, has not performed well over the past decade as it has not played an influential role in the government's policy making process.

T his, he argued, was because the party was bogged down by many apolitical activities.

"There is no political meaning to these activities," he said, quipping that "they can't help it because they must find something to do".

He said MCA has turned its elected representatives in the Parliament and state level into "social workers" who are tasked to carry out "daily administration works".

He also pointed out that the party had no intentions in making political inroads based on the various projects carried out over the past 10 years.

"This (the projects) include the 1993 Langkawi education project, the Chinese community mind set reform campaign, anti-slot machine campaign, anti-Ecstasy campaign, the recent cupid space activity and the puzzling 'basket movement (to attract more women votes)'," he added drawing laughter from the audience.

Islamisation issue

He said MCA has been timid about BN's move to Islamise various polices but had gone on the offensive against PAS for doing the same thing.

He also took a jibe against MCA over the closure of the Damansara Chinese primary school.

"If the party could run a university (Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman), why can't it solve a primary school problem," he said to a round of applause.

On 'the life long learning campaign', he asked if MCA could build more community libraries and enhance the facilities for broadband Internet access.

He also urged the party to give up its stake in Nanyang Press Holdings because if the dailies were bound by political interest and cannot decide on its editorial content freely, this will be an obstacle for public learning.

The forum, organised by the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth section also featured Malaysian Young Graduates' Society president Quek Ngee Meng and columnist Teh Hon Seng.

Seven target areas

Quek, who was involved in the planning committee for the MCA campaign, said the party's goal was to provide Malaysian Chinese with another platform to further their learning process after completing their formal education.

Elaborating, he said MCA's campaign was considered as a supplement to the Higher Learning Ministry's aim for more citizens to receive post-secondary education by 2010, especially for drop outs who are not fluent in Bahasa Malaysia.

He said the campaign focussed on seven areas, namely education, enhancing competitiveness, social care, humanity development, life planning, arts and culture, and national integration.

He also argued that Malaysian Chinese will remain under represented in Parliament if they do not take steps to improve themselves.

Meanwhile, Teh said 'the life long learning campaign' was not new and added that if it was meant for the benefit of the people then there was no need to focus on so many areas.

During the question-and-answer session later, Quek ( pix ) was grilled on the 'real purpose' for the campaign.

A participant who claimed to be an MCA member said the party should tackle the numerous problems affecting the community before turning its attention to such campaigns.