Koon Yew Yin

As the curtain comes down on the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and its demise as a force in Malaysian politics, Malaysians are being treated to demonstrations of desperate behaviour by the MCA top brass to show that they are still relevant.

The latest is the attempt by MCA’s Deputy President Liow Tiong Lai to reach out to Chinese voters by offering health tips for the Chinese New Year season.

No doubt the book launch speech by the Health Minister has been widely reported in the mainstream media. His backroom boys will probably be flattering the Minister about how clever he is in referring to the lucky number of 8888 and its association with wealth and health in reaching out to the Chinese electorate.

But will it work on the Chinese electorate?

What Chinese Voters Want

Will Chinese and Malaysian voters be easily swayed by such gimmicks which can be expected to intensify as we get closer to the elections?

My view is that it will not.

In fact, even MCA insiders realize that the Chinese electorate is a more sophisticated and discerning one. MCA veteran Woon See Chin, a former Deputy Education Minister, for example, has admitted that generous hand-outs such as the RM200 smart phone rebate and RM500 1Malaysia People’s financial aid would not help win back the support of disenchanted young Chinese voters.

His observation that “Chinese youth are more independent” and that “they don’t rely on any political parties; some of them have never received any financial aid from the government” is true not only for Chinese youth but also for the majority of the Chinese and Indian voting population.

What will the Chinese (and other Malaysian) voters be influenced by?

Chinese voters want change. They want a party that can stand up to Umno and its almost 60 years of self-serving politics of racism, cronyism and opportunism that have damaged our economy, ruined our educational system and made the future darker for all Malaysians, especially for non-Malays.

Make a Stand against the Top Dog

How to change our system? I have been told that guidance to MCA is akin to casting pearls before swine and that the leopard will never change its spots. Nevertheless I would like to offer some advice to the MCA leaders and its supporters for the coming elections.

According to feedback obtained from the Chinese community and through my participation in political ceramah and interaction with the man in the street, MCA and Gerakan will be wiped out as political parties in the elections. This is because few if any of its candidates will be able to win enough votes to be elected even in UMNO dominated constituencies.

This worst case scenario is based on two important considerations:

One, the Chinese view that Umno cannot and will not change its hard line ketuanan Melayu and ketuanan Islam ideology and policies which have scarred our nation and ruined the future of most Chinese youth

Two, the general view that MCA will never be allowed by Umno to be anything but a toady and boot-licking party

Faced with an impending disastrous performance in the election which could mark the end of the party, there is only one option that is available for the party and its members to pursue between now and the elections.

This option is that MCA leaders and members should not support the Barisan Nasional. Of course, it is too late for the party as a whole to take action and to make the momentous decision to get out of the BN coalition. This historic decision should be left to another time.

But in the meantime, individual leaders and members can signal their disapproval with the way that Umno has been running and ruining the country and their disgust with the way in which it has treated MCA as a lap dog. This can be done by abstaining from taking part in the elections and by not supporting BN during the elections.

Such a decision may be difficult for the likes of the top MCA leaders and central committee members who have profited from lucrative contracts, commissions, Datukships and Tan Sri-ships. But for the party’s middle-level leadership, this is the right time to shift their allegiance to the opposition coalition and for them to work to ensure a Pakatan victory.

Their contribution to ousting Umno from power can come in many ways such as urging constituency members not to vote blindly for BN candidates; secretly providing support to opposition candidates; alerting the NGOs monitoring the elections of the BN’s dirty tricks and likely abuses; dragging their feet on being co-opted as a BN election worker; etc.

Unlike the party’s leaders who have accumulated so much wealth by being cronies of Umno, the middle level and grassroots leadership have gotten crumbs whilst being kicked around. Only by working for change will they be able to win back the respect of the Chinese community and convince their friends and children that they have not sold out the Chinese community by being members of MCA.

The coming election provides the last chance for MCA leaders and members to change the course of history – positively. I and millions of Malaysians urge them –make a stand for change by working to ensure that the BN loses and for the opposition to take over Putrajaya.

Only in this way can the MCA – a thoroughly politically discredited and morally bankrupt party – make amends for the harm that it has inflicted on Chinese and the country.

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Comments (6)

• 20-03-2013 | Cheng  - Totally agree

  I fully agree with this article, if MCA keep condemn that DAP is not good or "sama-sama", since MCA now is in ruling government, dare you voice out the unfair education system imply to Chinese all these 50 years ? MCA still hiding their ball under the sarung.

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• 20-02-2013 | doist kuek  - Surprised

  I note with surprise that in this coming general election, Singapore is not the punching bag for UMNO. During Mahathir's time whenever UMNO assembly or general election was near, he liked to blame Singapore for his incompentency/deficiency of his ruling Malaysia. "Singapore is always sabotaging our beloved country" he said. There will be then thunderous applause from the follower and he won again.Instead, this time round, there is cordial cooperation between the two PMs of Malaysia and Singapore. This is healthy relationship and I'm very sure "sore" is the feeling of Mahathir; may be even slighted by it. Well done for new thinking, Malaysia !

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• 12-02-2013 | doist kuek  - Body infested with Parasites

  Body infested with parasites will not sustain life for long; whether the parasites come from within or outside. UMNO is the body infested with parasite in the like of members seeking patronage(within) and component parties(outside). When the body dies, the parasites die too. It is the matter of time that death occurs.

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• 09-02-2013 | kcirtap trebor

  It would be remiss to not recount a little bit of how MCA came into being and how the Chinese leaders then(mostly businessmen and traders)had no choice but to cooperate with the "Malay" elites then to ensure their place under the "Malayan" sun.
  However all that is water under the bridge and may or may not be relevant now;but suffice to say,the writer is by and large right to say that most of the leaders,top and middle level,have benefited one way or another from being "in government",with access to the decision-makers in the corridors of power.
  But to observers of history,it is all too clear that after May 13 1969,the country was overwhelmed by right-wing Nazi-like sympathisers in UMNO,especially under the half-Indian Muslim Mahathir Kutty,who only likes to be known as Mahathir Mohd.
  MCA under a succession of leaders from Tan Siew Sin to present-day Chua Soi Lek was and still is unable or willing to resist UMNO to its own detriment;better the devil you know than the devil you don't.MCA has always been caught between a rock and a hard place in an adopted country,whose destiny and direction it had absolutely no control over.
  It is not a question of whether MCA continues as a political force or not,it is of course in any democracy(functioning one ie)up to the voters in a fair election without massive fraud on the Election Commission's part(and UMNO),that decides on the fate of candidates and parties.
  Without critical mass in MCA's rank and file,or without any catalyst to set the movement going,MCA will linger on in BN and this is despite the obvious incongruity and diametrically-opposed political philosophies of MCA and UMNO....strange bed fellows indeed.
  

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• 08-02-2013 | TJK

  Totally agree with this article. It's too late for the party but never too late for the middle and grassroot levels. They can make amends. Now is the time to remember one's roots and the original cause and not dance to UMNO nor CSL's tune.

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• 08-02-2013 | fed up

  even if the MCA repents now, it is too late. they can never make up for the damage they have inflicted on the Chinese. From Tan Siew Sin all the way down to the present most rotten egg, Chua Soi Lek. On second thoughts, CSL shares the title with Ling Liong Sik, whose unparalleled greed behind a fascade of soft spoken, nice guy image has been blown wide open by the PKFZ scandal. Liong saved Mahathir's and UMNO's skin in 1988 when the party was deregistered and he must be expecting the Mamak Kutty to repay him by getting him off the hook for cheating Malaysians out of billions of ringgit. A bunch of rats - all these MCA leaders

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