Can MCA get out of its self-created QUICKSAND: Yes but it must sack Soi Lek & withdraw from BN

It is a mistake for the MCA to pass the motion of "not joining the Cabinet if severely defeated in the general election" through an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in 2011. MCA leaders should have considered before proposing the motion the possibly of being completely rejected by Chinese voters and the consequences of not joining the Cabinet.

Facts have proven that Chinese voters were not affected by the deterrent and even not afraid of the hudud laws being hyped by the MCA. And now, due to the resolution of the EGM, the MCA is unable to change the decision of not accepting any Cabinet posts.

Some MCA members who served as government officials have collectively resigned and closed down their service centres. How are they going to maintain grassroots forces as they will lose political resources without official posts? Closing down service centres means cutting off their relationships with the people and they will thus lose the chance to revive. It is indeed disastrous for a political party.

There are two possible outcomes for the MCA's decision of not joining Cabinet. One of it would be, if the new Cabinet does better and proves that the MCA is dispensable, the MCA may just dissolve. The other possibility is, if the government performs badly, the people would blame the BN for punishing the people, including the MCA. The DAP would become stronger and have a closer relationship with the people five years later, the MCA is expected to suffer a greater defeat by then.

Withdraw from BN

The MCA has to make a decision at this crucial moment. If the party thinks that the BN's policy has caused its severe defeat, it should then withdraw from the BN. This might give it a greater and more liberal political room. However, if it finds that there is a problem with its leadership, it should then replace the leaders with new faces, who might have better ideas and strategies.

If the MCA believes that it can have the chance to survive and revive only if it stays in the BN, it should then act decisively and convene another EGM to overthrow the previous resolution. However, the MCA must explain to BN leaders the key to restore Chinese voters' support, and set a deadline to achieve the targets like recognising the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and institutionalised Chinese primary school formation and funding.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has started to reshuffle his Cabinet and the new lineup should be announced soon. How would Najib continue to wait if the MCA does not have a clear stand? Therefore, the MCA should make its decision as soon as possible as there will be no coming back once its positions are filled.

It lacks political wisdom for some MCA leaders to propose that the DAP should join the BN. It is impossible for the DAP to work with Umno and would there be any room for the MCA to survive if it is replaced by the DAP?

The MCA should first figure out how it should survive and revive, before getting the answer for whether it should join the Cabinet, or the party will continue to split and waste time.

The DAP was able to get rid of its low tide after the 1999 general election and the MCA should use that as a reference. The DAP is a grassroots party that understands the thoughts of the people and thus, it can accurately bring up the people's aspirations.

Therefore, the first step of revival should be approaching the people and getting into the crowd. Many MCA leaders lead Chinese groups or schools, but do not understand the thoughts of the grassroots. The people want a fair governance, not MCA's "Stability above Chaos".

The MCA has neglected the dissatisfaction of the Chinese community for decades and eventually, the outburst of sentiments has flooded the MCA. Unless if the MCA is able to eliminate the sentiments, or it will no longer matter whether it joins the Cabinet or not.

- mysinchew