INTERVIEW | Top leaders of Barisan Nasional's remaining component parties are urged to review the coalition's relevance.

This followed its crushing defeat in the last general polls, which saw Umno winning 54 out of the total 79 parliamentary seats while its remaining allies MCA and MIC only secured three altogether.

For Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin, the heavy losses BN suffered should be blamed on the nature of its coalition, which was existent before the election.

This, he elaborated, had led to some component parties being lazy, whereby they had left it to the coalition's brand to win them seats.

"There are pros and cons when we have a coalition. Like BN, which was formed before the election. BN was registered and it is the coalition that contested in the election.

"What we found was that contesting parties used the coalition, leaving everything to the coalition to win the election for them. They did not work hard, they did not build their strength.

"Maybe ... I can't say that this is a decision as it needs to be made by the top leaders ... what needs to be given a thought is the position of BN going forward," he told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview today.

Khaled, who is a former Johor Menteri Besar, did not mince his words during the interview and directly singled out MCA.



"Take MCA for an example, when it contested in Balakong (by-election), the party had to ensure that it had the strength and machinery to win.

"Previously, when it was contesting on BN's ticket, it would make sure that others did the work for them.

"There are advantages and disadvantages (of having a pre-election coalition). The good thing is that when a party contests on its own, it will work to get its strength," he said.

The Balakong parliamentary by-election last month was the first time MCA broke BN tradition by contesting using its own name. Its candidate Tan Chee Teong however lost to Pakatan Harapan's Wong Siew Ki, from DAP.

According to Khaled, BN could take the practice of political parties in other countries where they only form a coalition to form a government after an election.

He said the position of BN was something that must be deliberately brought up for BN top leaders to make a decision.

"The people also could get confused when (BN) parties alternately contest on the coalition's ticket and their own name.

"So, the faster we make a decision, the better."

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