MCA looks to Taiwan mayor to plot its political comeback

MCA AGM | MCA will draw inspiration on making its political comeback from the recently concluded municipal election in Taiwan.

In particular, MCA president Wee Ka Siong said the party can learn from new Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu, following a trip to observe the elections on the island.

As Wee told delegates during his policy speech at the MCA annual general assembly in Kuala Lumpur today, Han is a politician who can command the crowd and master the people's language.

"Most importantly, his simple and easy-to-understand explanations on the economy endeared him to the people.

"In the end, he succeeded in bringing a 'blue wave' (referring to Han's party Kuomintang) to the island.

"While we cannot copy Han’s strategies blindly, there are definitely some lessons we can learn," he said.

Among the strategies Wee listed for MCA to employ include being fluent in economic discourse, and mastering the language of the people.

Seemingly against the odds, Han managed to wrest Kaohsiung from the Democratic Party, which held the seat for two decades.

Han himself has had a rocky political career, and was once shunned from Beijing-friendly Kuomintang.

Han had inspired hope among his voters with his powerful election slogans like "make Kaohsiung the richest in Taiwan," noted Wee. 

"He turned the people's dissatisfaction into support.

"We need to master the lingo of the grassroots and process the keywords into our economic discourse, and only then can we create hope that will strike a chord among the people," he said. 

The MCA president also said that leaders should also focus on values unique to the community within a particular constituency. 

"The person in charge of a constituency can build a common platform or organisation to bring together groups neglected by Harapan, particularly senior citizens and youths, through activities and events," he said. 

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