KJ: If MCA wants to go, thank you, goodbye, we’ll find someone else

Rather than reconsider its membership in BN, MCA should focus on strengthening itself, said Umno's Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar today.

However, should the party decide to leave the coalition, he mooted MCA be replaced with a party that is truly representative of the Chinese community.

“I would urge MCA during the upcoming party elections to focus on how they can strengthen themselves first. (It is) easy for them to point fingers at Umno [...] but let's not forget MCA is only left with one seat in Parliament.

“[...] Maybe it’s also time we look around to see if there is anybody else who wants to come and strengthen our support from the Chinese community. Maybe MCA is already beyond fixing, maybe, maybe.

“If you (MCA) are not interested to be with us, then thank you, goodbye, we’ll find somebody else.

"If you want to work together, let’s sit down, (and) strengthen BN together,” Khairy said after launching the "We Rock The Spectrum" children’s gym in Melawati, Selangor, this morning. 

He praised the gym for welcoming all children, especially those on the autism spectrum, to play and learn.

'Don't blame Umno' 

Yesterday, MCA presidential candidate Gan Ping Sieu opined that the party should quit BN, and mooted a referendum to decide the matter.

“BN was built on the principle of inclusiveness and moderation, and now we have a main dominating component party of BN working closely and forming an alliance with PAS.

“This is deviating not only from MCA's principles, but also from what BN stands for.

“This is why I think it is imperative for MCA - going through the democratic process: central delegates or even a referendum - to get ourselves out of BN so we can start over again,” Gan said.

Khairy today, however, insisted that Umno was still very much committed to BN as its “formal alliance” despite working with PAS.

Instead, he said MCA only had itself to blame for its unpopularity.

“Yes, there are weaknesses in BN associated with Umno that Umno has to address, but let’s not forget MCA has got to confront a tremendous crisis of their own making - which is that the Chinese community just does not support them anymore.

“And some of it has to do with BN, but a lot of it has to do with themselves.

“I would suggest that MCA look at themselves long and hard in the mirror and understand their own weaknesses before they point fingers at other people,” the former Umno Youth chief said.

In the recent Seri Setia by-election, Umno had decided to make way to allow PAS to contest in what was traditionally its seat after the latter did the same for Umno in the earlier Sungai Kandis polls.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had hailed the move as the beginning of a political cooperation between the two opposition parties. - Mkini