MCA AGM Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today urged the Chinese community to evaluate the sincerity of the latest pact between Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Pakatan Harapan.

In his speech at MCA’s 63rd annual general meeting today, Najib said the cooperation between Bersatu’s chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad and DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang was not genuine because of their historical animosity.

“Ladies and gentlemen, do you really think the opposition has a genuine partnership? Do you think Lim really likes Mahathir? Do you think Mahathir really likes Lim?” asked Najib, to which the MCA delegates replied with a resounding “No”.

Najib said Mahathir had once described Lim as “racist, anti-Malay and anti-Islam”, while the latter had once called the former premier a “dictator” among other insults.

He said he understood the need for political expediency, but given Mahathir’s history with the latter’s present allies, this relationship ought to be described as “hypocrisy at its highest level”.

“This is politics of U-turn. How many times have they U-turned?

"I think they have lost their direction. Too many times. Not only are the rakyat confused, they (the opposition) are confused.

“We can’t allow the leadership of this country to be run by a coalition without the element of sincerity.

"They can’t trust one another. They exist based on politics of hate,” said Najib.

'Not too extreme, too liberal'

In contrast, said Najib, Umno and MCA has had a long-standing and genuine friendship.

He said the two political parties have been working together for 64 years, on the basis of power sharing and consensus building.

“This bond of friendship has been tested. We have gone through ups and downs. But we never forget our old friends.

"This is what we call a genuine partnership.

“So we maintain a steady course. We believe in our core policy and philosophy, which is based on moderation and wasatiyyah.

"This is the best way for our country - not too extreme and not too liberal,” said the PM in his speech streamed live on MCA’s Facebook.

Malaysiakini was unable to cover the event as MCA has banned the news portal from its premises.

'No more factions please'

Najib also commended MCA president Liow Tiong Lai for mending rifts within the party and helping disparate factions close ranks ahead of the general elections.

“There was once a Team A, Team B and some even say a Team C in MCA. Today, there is only Team MCA.

“I congratulate the MCA president and his leadership because they have taken steps to close ranks at all levels,” he said.

Having a united MCA would mean that the party would only nominate candidates of the highest calibre for the next general election and not representatives of factions within the party, said Najib.

“I’m sorry to say that this has happened before, and I don’t want this to happen again,” he said.