The support for all BN (Barisan Nasional) component parties is shrinking by the day. These are all race-based political parties with UMNO having the upper hand over the other parties.
If there is a party that is to be blamed for this political gaucherie, it has to be none other than UMNO. UMNO is the main guilt-ridden party for MCA, Gerakan and MIC losing support from voters – especially the non-Malays.
UMNO’s race-centric policies and the chauvinistic among them have alienated the non-Malays from MCA, Gerakan and MIC.
A slippery slogan
UMNO is known to play a chameleon role when it comes to multi-racial politics in the country. 1Malaysia is only a slippery slogan. When UMNO leaders meet Malay voters their main contention will be to warn the Malays that the “Chinese is a threat to the country and the Malays”.
When speaking to a crowd of Malays and non-Malays, UMNO’s stand transforms to the 1Malaysia slogan.
When Mahathir was at the helm for 22 years as prime minister he was promoting his concept of Bangsa Malaysia – another slippery slogan created for his political expediency. Today he has turned into a super-racist trying hard to divide Malaysians thinking that he could save UMNO by doing so.
But the present enlightened Malays are aware that the Chinese with a population of about 6,960,000 as of 2010 (24.6 percent of the population) cannot be a threat to the country. The Chinese comprise only about a quarter of all Malaysians. They are politically represented in both BN and PR where both coalitions have Malays as the majority race.
And even if all the Chinese were to vote for a single coalition they will still form the minority politically. The majority race will still be the Malays. Thus, the term “threat” used by UMNO chauvinists to refer to the Chinese is purely for their political suitability.
Not forming a single party
One ill-conceived senior minister recently claimed that if UMNO loses power in the 13th general election the country will be back to 1511 – short of saying that “the country will be colonised by the Chinese”. Historically, Malacca was conquered by the Portuguese in 1511.
He was indirectly hinting to the people that in the present context if UMNO fails in the next general election the “Chinese will be the new ‘colonisers’ taking over the country”. This is an irresponsible statement coming from a government minister.
The Chinese are not forming a single party or entity to oppose BN or PR (Pakatan Rakyat). They may be allied to either one of these coalitions. Some are just indifferent towards politics. It is evident enough that the Chinese are willing to work with other races to bring progress to the nation. Why so much prejudice against them?
Too dumb to understand
Then we have the former prime minister of the country who openly proclaims to the public that the “minority wants to take over the country”. His sinister motive is to scare the Malays and make them support UMNO.
He is too dumb to understand that if there are a few energetic leaders among the non-Malays who criticise the UMNO-led government this does not mean that they are scheming to take over the country.
These opposing voices are there merely to express their thoughts and expectations in seeking social justice for all Malaysians and not only the minority. Their intention is not to step on on the rights of the majority or go out of control to topple the government in an undemocratic manner.
Beyond that, there are few super-racist NGOs that go around demonising the Chinese to win over Malay support for UMNO. They too have failed, as majority Malays are aware that the Chinese are part of the two-party system in the country. To win the next general election Chinese votes are crucial in many constituents. Not only can the Chinese be the “kingmaker” but also the Malays and Indians. BN and PR can only command about 45 to 55 percent of votes each from all the races.
Wants to outshine Gerakan
Of late MCA has a hidden agenda to be in the limelight. MCA wants to outshine Gerakan – the party that was formed in 1968 and was given the mandate to rule Penang under BN from 1973 to 2008. Gerakan today has virtually become a non-entity in Malaysian politics. Is MCA then eyeing for Penang?
But BN in Penang is in a mess now. To get Penang back from the DAP-led PR is almost an unmanageable task. The BN chairman in Penang is still a Gerakan man and this appointment by the BN chairman is much to the chagrin of UMNO that presently has 11 seats in the state assembly – the most among the BN component parties.
According to some political gurus MCA now wants to outdo Gerakan in Penang to get back the states they helmed from 1959 to 1969. Wong Pow Nee from MCA was formally appointed as first chief minister of Penang on August 31, 1957 since the proclamation of Malaya’s independence. He was re-elected to Penang State Legislative Assembly and re-appointed as chief minister in 1959 – the year Malaya’s first general election was held – until 1969.
Lim Chong Eu from Gerakan took over the state on May 12, 1969 and stayed on until October 25, 1990. Koh Tsu Koon from Gerakan helmed the state from October 25, 1990 to March 11, 2008. Lim Guan Eng from DAP-PR subsequently took over the state and became the chief minister on March 11, 2008.
Despite commanding good Chinese support in the past, MCA never had the chance to grab Penang and have their man as the chief minister after 1969. Is MCA’s ambition now to take over Gerakan in Penang and attempt a shot at the chief minister’s post?
Forget about capturing Penang
Today, both Gerakan and MCA have to compete for Chinese votes to remain relevant in Malaysian politics. But the situation is unfavourable for both these parties that political pundits opine that they can just forget about capturing Penang from the DAP-led government.
Gerakan wants Penang back and MCA too feel that if they can convince UMNO that they are in a better position to lead Penang why not give them the chance. But UMNO leaders will not take the risk of rocking the already shaky boat by putting a MCA man to take charge of Penang BN. This will shoo away Gerakan supporters from BN.
Given a choice, UMNO would want Penang to be led by an UMNO leader but this too will not work in BN’s favour. Gerakan will earnestly object to this. BN is actually facing a big dilemma in Penang.
UMNO in the state is now split and not that wholehearted when Gerakan is still given a big role in the state when they can effortlessly foretell that all Gerakan or MCA candidates fielded in the next general election will be wiped out. Only a few seats will be won by BN and that will be by UMNO candidates, perhaps.
PAS has become a formidable force
But UMNO cannot depend solely on Malay votes to win any constituent in Penang. They have to depend on Chinese and Indian votes. It’s all race and set-politics in Penang and it is not going to favour BN in whatever way the equation is wrought. On the contrary, DAP-led PR has more advantage than Gerakan-led BN in Penang.
PR is seen as more of a multi-racial coalition than BN when all races can contest under DAP and PKR tickets, except for PAS that usually field Muslim candidates of any race.
But then PAS has become a formidable force in Penang giving support to the DAP-led government. DAP and PAS work on a platform common to both, that is to fight against corruption and seek social justice for the people irrespective of one’s race or religion.
Looking into this reckoning, PR has an edge over BN in Penang.
Another setback for UMNO is that it does not have credible leaders in Penang. Those around now are mostly rabble-rousers and this will adversely affect the party’s performance in the next general election. Perkasa – the super rabble-rouser – is making it worse for BN in Penang.
Gerakan-led BN lost the battle against DAP-led PR in the 2008 general election. They were being badly mauled by PR candidates and are still licking their wounds. Gerakan has lost significant support in Penang. In other parts of the country Gerakan has become nigh on irrelevant. Their candidates, if fielded, can be classified as “unwinnable” for BN in the next general election.
MCA has gone berserk
Observing a weak Gerakan, MCA is trying hard to make itself more relevant to curry favour with UMNO. When Gerakan is rather quiet on the issue of hudud MCA has gone berserk over it to the extent of threatening to pull out from BN if UMNO decides to implement the Islamic Syariah law.
To UMNO it does not make any difference whether MCA stays on or leave BN. MCA has lost significant Chinese support.
UMNO would be too happy to field Malay candidates in all the constituencies that are reserved for MCA or Gerakan, for that matter. Furthermore, in Chinese majority constituencies it will be an arduous task for MCA or Gerakan to win seats as DAP has the edge to emerge victorious.
DAP today is perceived to be a much more disciplined party than MCA. When MCA leaders spit venom on DAP and PR, the latter response with courteousness. The people see more dignity in DAP than MCA leaders these days. Moreover, the young and urbane Lim Guan Eng – the DAP secretary-general – has morphed into a credible leader after helming Penang for the past 4 hears.
What’s more, the MCA leader is tainted. He carries a baggage – the “video tape” stigma on him - that most Malaysians cannot accept. Only UMNO seems to condone this baloney when they have decided not to show some of the exciting still-clips of him in action on TV3 like how they misleadingly denigrated Anwar Ibrahim – the Opposition leader.
Be that as it may, the success of Penang under DAP-led PR has given much credential to DAP. This has made DAP a better choice for the Chinese not because of race element here but it is solely based on performance in governance. DAP-led PR has proven to the people that they can deliver if given the chance.
MCA is now baffled
When the Gerakan leaders are rather mild in their bouts on the CM (chief minister) of Penang, MCA seems to politically engage the CM more raucously even when issues brought up are concocted, baseless and without any tangible evidence or constituent.
But frantic MCA is now baffled and their political motives have become more implausible. Why blame DAP for their unpopularity now? Logically MCA and Gerakan should blame UMNO for the all the blunders when the latter went all out with their forked tongue to demean the Chinese as a “threat to the Malays” and labelling them with all the uncouth words.
Of late, the MCA professional groups have joined the parent group and become very critical of the Opposition, mind-bogglingly for no sensible reason. They have been attacking the Selangor state government with falsified facts just to gain some cheap publicity, as the main stream media are there to help them spin the made-up issues raised by them.
Chua Tee Yong, MCA’s Young Professionals Bureau chairman, had alleged that the Selangor government had bought over Talam Corp’s RM676 million assets to clear the firm’s outstanding debts. If truth be told, Talam Corp was made to settle its RM392 million debt to the state instead of the latter bailing the firm out.
It was a blooper on MCA’s part. It is a proven fact that the Talam’s debt recovery exercise has not used a single cent of the rakyat’s money. It was actually executed in a professional and accountable manner under the competent management of Selangor menteri besar.
Unfortunately, this MCA professional group comprises green horns that do not know what they are talking about. The Talam Corp issue has backfired on MCA and this has further damaged the party’s reputation.
Both MCA and Gerakan have become irrelevant
MCA is now in political doldrums. It looks like all their candidates will be wiped out in the next general election. They can forget about helming Penang or any other state, as Gerakan will spoil their chance. Gerakan too can just forget about helming Penang back. Penang UMNO is not too happy with Gerakan heading BN in the state.
Penang UMNO is disappointed with their leadership and Gerakan, as they know that Gerakan cannot deliver in Penang. Nor can UMNO. It looks like Penang is lost for good to DAP-led PR.
At the national level, both MCA and Gerakan have become irrelevant in Malaysian politics. Thus, BN all can continue licking their wounds inflicted on them in the 2008 general election.
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