Ramasamy: MCA, MIC should just bypass UMNO to join PN but be wary of MACC come knocking

 

WHETHER the MCA or MIC’s intention to join the opposition coalition is an act of desperation or a reaction to being pushed into a corner by the overbearing UMNO in Barisan Nasional (BN) remains an open question.

If UMNO being the strongest party in the BN coalition can get away without consulting the other two component parties, then what dignity is left for them to remain within the BN under such conditions of indignity?

The real question is why it took so long for the MCA and MIC to even consider the decision of joining an opposition coalition. History, after all, is not always made by choice but under circumstances that present themselves at a particular moment in time.

Having been blindly loyal to UMNO and the BN coalition for decades, continuing been subservient is no longer acceptable for MCA and MIC.

MIC’s ‘grand’ rebuttal to UMNO

The loss of Chinese and Indian support for these two parties is not due to their own performance alone but largely the way they have been treated by UMNO.

It was UMNO’s “enslavement” of both parties that brought them to their present sorry state of affairs. Had the leadership of MCA and MIC not been content with the breadcrumbs thrown at them, the political history of the country might have been very different today.

The transition from a healthy inter-elite bargaining in the consociational system to a more controlled system under UMNO’s dominance is the primary reason for the decline of the BN coalition.

UMNO may still be dominant but without the political vibrancy of its component partners, BN is no longer a genuine coalition.

Recently, MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan gave a fitting reply to UMNO’s deputy president Mohamed Hassan regarding why the MIC needed to consult UMNO before sending a representative to the recent Bersatu AGM.

As Saravanan pointed out, if UMNO itself has failed to consult the MCA and MIC on important coalition decisions, why should the MIC consult UMNO?

MACC comes knocking

At present, the relationship between the MCA, MIC, and UMNO leaders has reached an all-time low.

Whether PN is serious about admitting these two non-Malay parties remains to be seen. The opposition may be irritating UMNO’s leadership by openly inviting MCA and MIC into their fold but they also know that both parties are no longer in a position to attract significant non-Malay support.

The leaders of MCA and MIC are equally aware that joining PN is not a straightforward matter. They could lose whatever minimal benefits they still enjoy as part of BN.

Image credit: The Edge

There is also speculation that the moment these two component parties leave BN, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) might soon come knocking on their leaders’ doors.

The Madani government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim knows how to deal with the opposition. Selective persecution has become the hallmark of the present administration. 

Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.