Khaled Nordin: MCA tried to be more DAP than DAP itself in GE14

INTERVIEW | The last general election saw BN losing a great deal of support from the Chinese voters because MCA tried to outdo DAP in racialising the community, according to Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin.

In his own words, the former Johor menteri besar described MCA as trying to be more than what the DAP is, in its attempt to woo Chinese voters.

"...(MCA lost Chinese support) because they tried to be more DAP than DAP. That is why they lost. Because you turn every Chinese to be racial.

"DAP (also) tries to turn every Chinese to be racial, but Malaysia is a multiracial country.

"We cannot only tell the Malays that Malaysia is made of multiracial communities, that we must be moderate. But with the Chinese, no one is telling them that," he told Malaysiakini in an interview on Tuesday, held in conjunction with the Umno General Assembly, which begins early next month.

The politician's remarks came after he was asked what had went wrong with MCA in the 14th general election last year, which saw the Chinese component party of BN almost obliterated.

MCA only retained one parliamentary seat, in Ayer Hitam, Johor, which was won by its then deputy president Wee Ka Siong (above), and two state assembly seats. It was a record low for the party.

Then MCA president Liow Tiong Lai was also defeated in his run to defend his Bentong parliamentary seat. Ka Siong has since replaced Liow as the party president.

According to Khaled, MCA had also failed to address the sentiments of the Chinese, who perceived the BN component party as being subservient to Umno.

"They failed to manage the Chinese... That is why they lost to such allegation."

Khaled said each and every race in the country has to be moderate, and it is MCA's role to explain to the Chinese so they understand the reality of Malaysia, where everyone must work together.

Following the footsteps of DAP in racialising the Chinese would only be futile for MCA.

'Moderation must be inculcated in all races'

"For us in Malaysia, all races must be moderate. The Malays had all this while shown high tolerance and respectl for all the other races.

"And for us, with regard to the Chinese, the MCA must work on Chinese voters to make sure that they are moderate Chinese. Chinese who accept the reality of this country's situation (where) the Malays are the majority, that we have Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

"MCA has to work to ensure that the Chinese are moderate, that the Chinese understand this. This is the characteristic of Malaysia, and MCA has to work towards this," Khaled said.

"MCA should not be influenced by DAP's method, but explain to the Chinese voters that despite the facts about Malaysia's character, nothing stops them economically, to do their businesses and to accumulate wealth. So what is the problem?"

According to Khaled, any attempt to change the character of the country would not be successful.

This was also why the DAP is now facing the wrath of the Chinese community, which is upset with their alleged failure to keep their promises after becoming a part of the new government.

"The Malaysian character, the Federal Constitution. DAP easily said that it wanted to change this and that. It cannot be done. There will surely be resistance.

"Of course the Chinese would be disappointed because what DAP promised could not be met. (For example) the Unified Examination Certificate. Until today, they could not get (it to be recognised in Malaysia)."

At the same time, Khaled noted that the Malays too must accept that while they are the majority race, they are also living with the others in this country.

While a government should be led by the dominant group, Khaled stressed, it must also be inclusive of the people from the other ethnic backgrounds.

In the context of Umno's cooperation with PAS under their Muafakat Nasional agreement, he said whoever gets to be the leader of the nation will the assurance to the non-Malays that their rights will be protected.

Tanjung Piai saw 'the slaughter' of Harapan

"You saw the Tanjung Piai by-election. Is it a Malay thing? We gave in to MCA," he said, referring to the recently concluded by-election in Johor which saw BN candidate from MCA, Wee Jeck Seng (above), winning the seat with a landslide victory.

Jeck Seng, who got a total of 25,466 votes, left the Harapan candidate from Bersatu, Karmaine Sardini, far behind with 15,086-vote majority.

Speaking about the election, Khaled also bragged about BN's win, calling it as not only a defeat of Harapan but was more of a "slaughtering" of the ruling coalition.

Harapan, he claimed, had read the situation wrongly, where it failed to gauge the feeling of the Malays, while the Chinese were generally upset with how Harapan was managing the country's economy. - Mkini