MCA on slippery slope in KL

Hope is about all it has left in trying to better its 2008 performance.

Most pundits would agree that for the coming general election, MCA has little hope of doing any better than it did in 2008, especially in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur.

There are 11 parliament seats in Kuala Lumpur, and BN traditionally lets MCA contest for five of them, namely Wangsa Maju, Bukit Bintang, Seputeh, Cheras and Bandar Tun Razak. It scored zero in the last election.

Indeed, MCA’s popularity in Kuala Lumpur has been on the downslide since the mid-1980s. The last time it saw any glory was when Tan Koon Swan was helming its Federal Territory liaison office.

Tan carried out a host of impressive community and party projects and tirelessly dedicated himself to serving his constituents in Damansara, the seat that he had snatched from DAP in 1982.

Two years later, however, MCA plunged into a crisis over allegations of phantom membership. The ensuing quarrels eventually led to Tan’s expulsion. However, he made a comeback and became party president in November 1985. But his legal troubles in Singapore persuaded him to resign about a year later.

It has since been downhill for MCA in Kuala Lumpur and only the most idealistic supporter would hold on to any hope of a political reincarnation through the 13th general election.

If there is any glimpse of hope at all, it would be in Wangsa Maju, where in 2008 the party’s Yew Teong Look lost by only 150 votes to Wee Choo Keong, who contested on a PKR ticket.

But insiders say Yew has fallen out of favour with the top MCA leadership and that this state of affairs has been worsened by reports that he is not on good terms with local Umno officials. Chances are he will be left out of the candidates’ list.

Swap in Kepong
There is also speculation—and perhaps hope—of a swap with Gerakan that would allow MCA to contest in Kepong. Gerakan has been losing there since DAP heavyweight Tan Seng Giaw won the seat in 1982.

MCA apparently wants to position a new and probably young candidate in Kepong in the hope that the novelty would contribute to a change in its fortune.

Bukit Bintang also looks like a lost cause for MCA, especially with the resignation of its division chief there, Lee Chong Meng, who has joined PKR. In 2008, DAP’s Fong Kui Lin won the seat with a majority of 14,277.

There is even less hope in the other DAP strongholds of Seputeh and Cheras.

These parliament seats are likely to remain with Pakatan Rakyat regardless of the candidates the opposition pact decides to field.

There are rumours that local Umno warlords are attempting to persuade their top leadership to let the Malay party, instead of MCA, contest in Bandar Tun Razak. In 2008, MCA’s Tan Chai Ho was defeated by PKR’s Abdul Khalid Ibrahim by a majority of 2,515.

Tan, who is the party’s treasurer-general, indicated last year that he would not contest again in Bandar Tun Razak. Since then, MCA has been trying to identify a replacement candidate.

Chew Lian Keng, a personal assistant to Tan, was favoured to test the ground, but he apparently failed and was finally compensated with a senatorial post. Sources said local Umno activists rejected him.

Running out of strategies
An insider said MCA is anxious to make a breakthrough by winning at least one seat in Kuala Lumpur. According to the source, one option being considered is to field a serving minister or deputy minister for one of the seats.

But pundits are of the opinion that MCA has run out of strategic moves to stop its slide into irrelevance, at least in Kuala Lumpur and other urban centres.

The literacy rate in Kuala Lumpur is 97.5% and the racial composition is 44.2% bumiputeras, 43.2% Chinese and 10.3% Indians.

Young adults account for 67% of the city’s working population. They are well informed and are not easily influenced by Barisan Nasional propaganda. So, it is not just MCA, but BN itself that is desperately trying to hang on to a slippery rope.

Stanley Koh is a former head of MCA’s research unit. He is a FMT columnist.