MCA should be ashamed over Bossku U-turns

As MCA dwells in pride with their phenomenal four-seat win in the Johor election, we are reminded of how flattery is deeply ingrained in Malaysian politics.

Prior to the Johor election, the party distanced itself from disgraced former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak to maintain a moral high ground with the Chinese community.

When ground sentiment changed and the Chinese party sensed the convicted felon was attracting more crowds than their party president Wee Ka Siong, overnight, MCA became Bossku-friendly.

The Pekan MP was campaigning in the constituencies of Johor Jaya, Gambir, Tangkak, Stulang, Skudai, Mengkibol, Bentayan, and Penggaram, which were seats MCA were least likely to win.

In a game that’s about numbers and precision in timing, the stakes were high in the Johor polls for Wee because he chose to field nine fresh candidates out of 15 seats, going heads on against the local MCA division chiefs who were eyeing for seats for themselves and cronies.

This led to MCA Pontian’s division chief Tee Siew Keong accusing Wee of using the elections to purge rivals from the party.

During the campaign period, resistance from grassroots members became evident when Wee had to dispatch MCA members from other states to support his candidates’ campaign, lobby for Umno’s cooperation, and brandish their “secret weapon” - Bossku.

With some lady luck, two of the four seats MCA won in Johor were constituencies Najib visited and won by an over 50 percent majority.

The victory was paramount for the party which has been struggling to find its relevance within the BN coalition. In the 2018 general election, MCA lost all 15 Johor seats it contested, making it the worst performance in history for the party.

A tattling tycoon

However, MCA’s cajolery, patronage, and blandishment of Najib were put to the test when its lifetime member Lee Kim Yew wrote two open letters to the Election Commission (EC) chairperson lambasting the “Malu Apa Bossku” campaign as anti-Islam.

Instead of revoking the tycoon’s membership, MCA, living up to its name of being the ‘silent’ party, only had its youth chief Nicole Wong shamelessly ask Lee to resign from the party.

MCA member and business tycoon Lee Kim Yew

Lee, who is a long-time supporter of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has openly taken jabs at Najib, and intentionally signed off his first letter to the EC as an MCA member, as he must have known that MCA’s recent victory in the Johor election was partially on Najib’s coattails.

Lee’s actions are a test to MCA. If the party decides to revoke his membership, Lee can conveniently shoot MCA down from his moral high ground by accusing its leaders of associating the party with thievery.

In the situation where MCA keeps mum, Lee can continue to brand them as a lily-livered party.

Redemption in Penang

It was only three months apart that Najib was invited to speak at two international business networking events hosted by the same organiser.

The difference being MCA had no visibility at the 2021 World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF) in December and Penang MCA chairperson Tan Teik Cheng was on stage with Najib at the opening of the Penang International Business and Investment Summit last week.

In between both events was the Johor election and Lee’s chiding of Najib as a “great embarrassment” to the WCEF that he founded in 2009.

Tan, who is also the Penang Port chairperson had his CEO speak at the summit while he followed Najib on his charm offensive in a Chinese new village in Bukit Mertajam.

This was Najib’s first visit to this village, in a DAP stronghold. Despite the scuffle by DAP supporters before the visit, Tan managed to keep the situation under control and ensured chants of “Bossku” echoed as Najib entered the food court welcomed by dragon and lion dance troupes.

The recent spin of events is telling. It was only in August last year that Najib dropped a warning to MCA when the party supported Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister. MCA stayed quiet. Post-Johor election, the party celebrated and hailed Najib as a saviour.

When the time came to take a stand, the party again choose to skulk in the dark, just like in old times when sensitive issues such as racial quotas at universities and the numerous scandals involving BN arose.

If MCA wants to rise from the ashes like a phoenix, the party needs to take some bold risks to take stands and not wallow in silence. Taking the right path, instead of the easy one, would be a good start. - Mkini

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CHRISTINE YP is a former journalist working on development programmes.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.