Nothing amiss about BN reps' absence at MCA meet, clarifies president

Unlike previous years, representatives from BN component parties were not present at the 2023 MCA annual meeting at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

However, MCA president Wee Ka Siong assured there was nothing amiss.

He explained that it is MCA’s tradition not to invite political allies to the meeting when there is a party election.

"Just like in 2018 when he had our election. We will be having a transition of leadership, and this year is no different.

"So we did not invite other political parties but invitations will be extended for next year’s AGM,” Wee told a press conference.

The Ayer Hitam MP had defended his post for the second term after defeating former central committee member Tan Chong Seng by a significant margin.

MCA’s plan

The MCA president also clarified his policy speech this morning where he said the party is prepared to operate on its own if BN component parties seek new alliances.

Asked if he was referring to Umno, which is struggling to remain relevant among the Malay electorate, Wee said he made a general statement.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong

"Every time we hear leaders saying, ‘We would rather cooperate with someone else, we prefer to cooperate with someone else’. That’s okay.

“Since you have the intention to leave or if there is a plan to leave (BN), then MCA also has to plan for its own future.

"We are clear (about MCA’s plan). First, we should reform ourselves. The second is to strengthen BN because BN is a good model," he added.

Quoting Chinese idioms, Wee said MCA would not "sit and wait to die" if BN component parties intended to "find new love".

Responding to a question on former MCA Youth chief Nicole Wong’s call to end cooperation with DAP, the president replied that MCA would "move forward for the people".

"It depends on the issue, it depends on what it is for," he added.

Currently, MCA only has two parliamentarians - Wee and vice-president Wee Jeck Seng, who is the MP for Tanjung Piai.

MCA does not hold any cabinet positions in the Pakatan Harapan-BN coalition government. - Mkini