Amid overtures from Umno, MCA president Wee Ka Siong today hinted the party will not enter into a formal cooperation with PAS as part of the proposed Muafakat Nasional pact.
Speaking to reporters at MCA's annual Chinese New Year open house in the capital which was also attended by PAS leaders, Wee insisted it was more important for all parties in the opposition bloc to embrace the spirit of Muafakat Nasional.
"Even if we were to hold to one paper (agreement), in the end, parties still quarrel. I don't see what benefits could be gained.
"So for me, the spirit (of Muafakat Nasional) must be embraced [...] its essence is what is important. We cooperate on universal issues," said Wee who then again repeated his party's stand against joining a formal Muafakat Nasional pact.
Wee said he remained consistent that the formula crafted by Umno and PAS should not be viewed as a rigid guide but instead adopted in terms of its overall spirit of cooperation.
"It is a concept backed by parties that felt there was a need for cooperation in the context of solidarity among opposition parties, or with other parties, including those who in the past were neutral," he said.
Wee insisted the spirit of cooperation was open to all parties with the same struggle including the ones that had left BN as witnessed in the recent Kimanis by-election.
While echoing Wee's remarks that the opposition bloc was open all parties via informal cooperation, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan, who was also present at the event, shared a slightly different view on his vision for Muafakat Nasional.
Mohamad said Muafakat Nasional was the second phase of the Umno-PAS cooperation, an opportunity for collaboration by a formal opposition bloc.
He argued that this was in line with their status as political parties with a primary goal to win in elections.
"We are a political party, not an NGO. As a political party, our primary goal is to win in elections and form governments.
"I would be lying if I say that I have no ambitions to bring BN and our allies to victory in GE15," said Mohamad.
"To win, we need an understanding and cooperation.
"This is what we are doing and I hope that Muafakat Nasional will not be portrayed as cooperation that could damage our country's multi-racial makeup," he said.
At the sidelines of MCA's annual general meeting last Dec 1, Mohamad had said Muafakat Nasional was exploring the possibility of formally registering as a coalition and if BN parties could join en bloc or as individual parties.
When asked for comments, Wee at the time stressed that MCA would not be forming a new coalition with PAS.
On the same day, MIC president SA Vigneswaran, however, had a different tone and indicated a willingness to form a new Muafakat Nasional pact with PAS on board.
Meanwhile, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, who was also present at the MCA headquarters for the open house, claimed the present Muafakat Nasional cooperation had already embraced MCA and MIC as allies of BN as well as Gagasan Sejahtera, the Islamist party's separate pact with Ikatan and Berjasa.
"When we talk about Muafakat Nasional, it is clear in our MOU between PAS and Umno, that it includes BN's Umno, MCA and MIC.
"For PAS we also have Gagasan Sejahtera [...] basically we can say that MCA and MIC are parties of Muafakat Nasional because of our relationship [...]," he claimed.
"We are all in the opposition bloc [...] we are together in Parliament and outside Parliament.
"So it is highly probable that we will be together as a team in GE15," he said.
The Umno-PAS Muafakat Nasional charter was inked last Sept 14 after a series of successful informal cooperation arrangements for past by-elections. - Mkini
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