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Monday, August 29, 2011

MCA, Umno won't implode but may go the way of Taiwan's KMT, says Jui Meng

MCA, Umno won't implode but may go the way of Taiwan's KMT, says Jui Meng

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng does not foresee extinction for the Malaysian Chinese Association, but instead an opportunity for his old party to reform, heal and re-take the centre stage, perhaps after another two or three general elections, in the same manner as the Koumintang party in Tawan.

"Even in an individual's life there are ups and downs, so what more a party like the MCA with hundreds of thousands of members. But MCA will survive because firstly, it has the money to finance its operations. It also has an entrenched and very wide network. You can say it is antiquated but it more or less works," Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.

"In Taiwan, this was exactly what happened to the KMT. Chen Shui Bian's Democratic Progressive Party came to power after KMT ruled Taiwan for more than 5 decades. But Chen himself turned corrupt and after two GEs, he was ousted and KMT is now back in power. But mind you, this was only after KMT regained the people's confidence by admitting it was wrong and took action to show it was sincere."

Humble pie and "retro-edow"

The current Taiwan president is KMT's Ma Ying Jeou, a very popular leader blessed with film star looks and a strong reputation as an indefatigable reformist - an image impossible to connect with the KMT in the 1990s. The KMT was then seen as the most corrupt and even 'evil' party by the fed-up Taiwan people because of its ham-fisted rule.

In the end and against all odds, Chen triumphed in 2000 and ruled until 2008.

Stunned, the KMT was finally forced to eat humble pie. It publicly acknowledged that part of its assets were acquired through extra-legal means and promised to "retro-endow" them to the government. However, the quantity of the assets which should be classified as illegal are still under heated debate.

In Malaysia, Jui Meng pointed out KMT's similarities with the MCA were huge and also extended to BN boss UMNO.

"History has a way of repeating itself," said Jui Meng. "This is a good lesson for both MCA and UMNO to reflect on and not overreach themselves. At this point in time, they have lost all wisdom and nothing you can say will persuade them. They will continue with all their shenanigans to stay in power, even destroy the country with racism and religious bigotry.

"But the more sinful and the more criminal acts they perform, the harder it will be for the people to forgive them because no matter what, the inevitable will happen. There will be a change of power, a political, societal and economic transformation which nobody can stop because it is the only thing that can happen. After 5 decades of misrule, this is the only antidote. The boil must burst and the pus must be released."

Rough years ahead, survival will hinge on new blood

68-year old Jui Meng had contested the MCA presidency against Ong Tee Keat in late 2008. Even then, he had warned that the MCA must implement drastic reforms including accepting other races into the party. Jui Meng also warned that if MCA's top leadership continued to toe the UMNO line at the expense of the Chinese community, then the small 'window of opportunity' till the next general election would be wasted, and MCA would be even weaker.

The MCA turned in its worst electoral performance in the landmark March 2008 general election, retaining only 15 out of 40 parliamentary seats and 32 out of 91 state assembly seats it contested. Its leaders had then promised to reform or to act a source of reform within the BN, but their efforts failed dramatically - beaten down by UMNO's excessive racial politicking to protect its own Malay voter base.

"These are the things I spoke about and warned about in 2008. But we look ahead now and not backwards, so the important thing, does the MCA have the right leadership to help the party tide over the next few years," said Jui Meng, who quit to join PKR in 2009 after failing to convince the MCA top leadership to shift course.

These will be very rough years and what MCA needs the most now is new blood, both men and women of vision and vigor. They must be willing to admit the faults of the party and from there rebuild. If they behave like the current leadership of Chua Soi Lek, who keeps insisting everything is fine, then it will put at risk MCA's ability to heal and be resurgent again."

Never replace one dictator with another

The former Health Minister expects UMNO to maintain its hold on the Malay electorate although he added that UMNO will be visibly weaker than before. And going forward - with PAS, PKR and DAP fast recruiting Malay members - UMNO's core electorate would be whittled down even further, and it may then face the same road that MCA and Gerakan are now about to embark on.

Jui Meng said he took no pleasure in predicting a "bleak" future for both his former party and BN coalition. He insisted that Malaysia needed a check-and-balance, a two-party system, pointing again to Chen Shui Bian's downfall as a lesson for the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim to not lose sight of as well.

"I am not saying UMNO won't be able to retain the fedeal government but it will be very tough for it to do so. But whether BN continues to form the next federal government in GE-13, I think MCA is finished. There is no way it can recover without sitting outside the BN for a spell - away from the dominance of UMNO to rebuild itself. In fact, the faster MCA does this, the better its chances are because the electorate is getting younger by the day and may easily forget about them for good.

"At the end of the day, PKR is committed to a two-party system. This is something PKR can assure Malaysians of. We don't want political hegemony or chauvinistic politics. If we aren't committed to a two-party system, then we become like the BN and this is not what we want for the Malaysian people. There should never be a question of replacing one dictator for another." - Malaysia Chronicle

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