DAP upbeat over another ‘No to BN’ incident

Based on the cold response received by MCA's Dr Ng Yen Yen, Malacca DAP is hoping to deny BN a two-third majority in the state.

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PETALING JAYA: The large crowd which gathered at the Malacca-level Chap Goh Meh celebrations repeatedly shouted “No!” when asked to vote for Barisan Nasional in the coming election, much to the delight of DAP.

The opposition party told FMT that the strong anti-establishment mood was an indication that Pakatan Rakyat could win more seats to deny BN’s two-third majority in the Malacca state assembly.

However, MCA begged to differ.

The “No!” incident took place at popular tourist spot Jonker Street on Sunday when Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen boasted about BN’s performance in her speech.

She told the crowd that a larger Chap Goh Meh celebration would be held should the BN government retain power in the coming general election, and asked them to say “Yes” in reply.

But she was met with a hostile response, as the crowd shouted: “No! No! No!”.

The MCA vice-president then told the crowd “to wake up TO the stark reality and say yes” but the chant of “No! No! No!” grew louder this time.

Not giving up, Ng tried to convince the crowd by citing Pakatan’s shortcomings such as the PAS-led Kelantan government’s ban on Valentine’s Day and lottery tickets but the crowd still shouted “No! No! No!”.

The irritated minister then retorted: “Those who say ‘no’, ask the Jonker street hawkers how much they earn everyday? Don’t pawn the Malacca tourism for the sake of politics!”

The embarrassing episode ended with Ng concluding her speech a short while later.

Commenting on the incident, DAP’s Kota Melaka parliamentarian Sim Tong Him said Ng’s arrogant attitude and the crowd’s response reflected the ground sentiments towards BN.

“It is a known fact that urban folks are not going to support BN. Even if you ask an old man in a coffee shop, he would say he is not going vote for them,” he added.

MCA losing ground
He claimed that the anti-establishment mood had grown stronger since 2008 especially among the Chinese and Malay voters.

The opposition through DAP won one parliamentary seat and five state seats in the last general election.

Malacca has five parliamentary seats and 28 state seats. The Chinese majority seats are the Bandar Melaka parliamentary seat and Bandar Hilir, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana and Ayer Keroh state seats.

“MCA didn’t manage to recover their lost ground due to their infighting between the Dr Chua Soi Lek faction and Ong Tee Keat faction.

“Now only Chua’s men such as (state deputy chief) Seet Har Cheow and (state secretary) Koo Nai Kwang are still working,” he said, adding that Ong’s supporter, former Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee, had been idle in the state.

With firm Chinese backing and increasing support from rural Malay voters, Sim said hopes were high that they could deny the BN’s two-third majority in the coming GE.

“Voters in the outskirt areas used to vote BN. But recently we held a lot of events in the areas and the response and turnout was very encouraging.

“Last time before 2008 when I went to the pasar malam in rural areas, many Malays refused to shake my hand. Even when we distributed the The Rocket newspaper to them, they would throw it away after a while.

“But now they would come themselves to ask for the paper, they would gather around me to talk to me after a ceramah session,” he said.

Interestingly, Malacca Wanita MCA chief Kian Sit Har last year broke ranks with the party to join the mammoth Bersih 3.0 rally for clean and fair elections. Her surprise move might in some way reflect what the grassroots were thinking.

‘No infighting in MCA’

However, state MCA chief Gan Tian Loo who attended the Chap Goh Meh function claimed that he was not aware about the booing incident on stage.

He said the people had in fact supported BN because the state and federal governments had done a lot for them.

“We have done many things to boost the tourism industry, this creates job opportunities especially for the hawkers and hotel operators. I don’t think we are getting any problem,” he said.

Gan opined that MCA could even wrest back the six DAP-held seats.

He also denied there was a infighting in MCA, pointing out that the state leadership had been praised by the party president to be the most united one.