Malays dare “opportunist MCA” to walk out of BN should UMNO continue to co-opt with DAP in GE16

 

SLEEP with thy enemies to maintain power or stay loyal to old flames to rekindle relationships of yore?

That seems to be the ultimatum presented when MCA passed a resolution at its general assembly over the weekend (Dec 7) that threatened the very existence of the long partnership that is Barisan Nasional (BN).

At the Third General Assembly of the 30th MCA Central Committee, MCA passed a resolution stating it would leave BN if any of the component parties in the 51-year-old collation decides to work with DAP in the next general election.

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong argued such cooperation would effectively signal the end of the BN spirit.

Needless to say, this latest manoeuvre has generated plenty of comments from political enthusiasts on social media.

On the Facebook page of Malay language daily Utusan Malaysia, many commenters dared MCA to carry out its threat, feeling perhaps that MCA has overstated its importance in the current political landscape.

One commenter sneered at MCA’s opportunism, citing the recent wipe-out of DAP in Sabah state polls had emboldened the BN party to make such a move.

He further warned that the Sabah elections was not an accurate indicator of federal politics, arguing that it was a clear rejection of Peninsula parties rather than a rejection of DAP itself.

Editor’s Note: In a reaction, outspoken UMNO supreme council member Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi has described the MCA resolution as merely a “dignified excuse” following the party’s losses in the Sabah general election.

MCA lost in Tanjong Kapor where its candidate Kevin Lee Sip Kim secured only 1,455 votes against Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and in Karamunting where Datuk Chin Kim Hiung garnered 2,297 votes but lost to Warisan.

“When they saw that DAP also performed poorly in Sabah, MCA felt it had a chance to regain support from the Chinese community,” he told the New Straits Times. “So by leaving BN, MCA hopes to go ‘one-on-one’ against DAP in the 16th General Election (GE16).” 

Most welcome to leave

Another commenter viewed this resolution as simply a means to bargain for ministerial positions in the impending Cabinet shake-up.

Claiming it made little difference to the Malay community, another claimed that the Malays were being silently duped regardless of whether it was the MCA or DAP.

At the end of the day, it was merely political theatrics the swing of support from Chinese voters from MCA to DAP because they felt let down by the former and likewise the wipe-out of the latter in Sabah polls because the Chinese voted for MCA.

A cross section of the Utusan Malaysia readership also echoed the sentiment that it made little difference whether it was the MCA, DAP or Gerakan that represented the Chinese in BN.

In fact, a related report where MCA head honcho Wee double downed on the threat by claiming that MCA is ready to leave BN if the coalition continues to support policies that burden the people and weaken its position was also met with similar disdain.

One commenter pointedly asked what did the MCA (and MIC which have made similar threats to walk out from BN) bring to the equation?

The subject of ministerial portfolios was also mentioned here, hinting that Wee was unhappy that he was not being considered for a plump position.

By and large, the sentiment expressed from commenters in the Utusan Facebook posts indicate that its readership which is indicative of the Malay grassroots thinks that MCA has overplayed its hand.

Perhaps as suggested by one commenter, MCA should just hold its horses till GE16 whereby he believes that BN will contest the polls “solo”, ie sans DAP and the Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance.

Will UMNO call the MCA’s bluff in this game of high stakes poker or does the latter think it can sway the all-important Chinese community vote? The Malaysian public awaits how this latest piece of political theatrics will unfold. –  Focus Malaysia