BN to go on after leaders hear MCA, MIC complaints

Top leaders from Umno, MCA and MIC after their meeting in Kuala Lumpur today.

KUALA LUMPUR: Top leaders of Barisan Nasional (BN) who met today agreed that the coalition would remain in its present form, with no consensus reached on a call by MCA to dissolve it amid differences with Umno.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said he would bring the issues discussed today to the party’s central working committee.

BN acting chairman Mohamad Hasan, meanwhile, said Umno and MIC disagreed with the dissolution but took into consideration the call for a technical committee to study the grievances of component parties and restructuring of operations ahead of the next general election.

Mohamad also announced that Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor remains BN secretary-general, saying the appointment of Nazri Aziz was never agreed to by consensus.

“He (Tengku Adnan) never resigned, nor was the appointment of a new secretary-general discussed by BN.

“We all agreed that Tengku Adnan will remain as secretary-general until a decision is made to appoint a new one, or until he resigns.”

Mohamad said at the meeting, which continued for over two hours, MIC also aired its complaints, including over the decision of BN while in government to channel aid directly to the Indian community, which it said had weakened the party.

“We heard these grievances and we agreed to set up a technical committee to look at the BN administration at a state and, later, parliamentary level.”

This, he said, would ensure that no party feels sidelined or that others are dominant.

On the cooperation between Umno and PAS, Mohamad said MCA and MIC understood that it was solely between the two parties and not the entire coalition.

He added however that the cooperation would benefit BN, as had been seen in the recent Cameron Highlands by-election.

Wee, meanwhile, said MCA had no problem working with anyone including PAS, as long as the cooperation is on matters which do not go against the constitution and which bring about good for the people.

He and MIC president SA Vigneswaran said it was clear that Umno’s cooperation with PAS was on the opposition front and had nothing to do with the Islamist party joining BN.

Vigneswaran, too, said MIC had no issues working with PAS. - FMT