YOURSAY | Will MCA’s new aspirants stand up to kleptocrats?

 

YOURSAY | 'They must find out why the people rejected the party.'

MCA set to field 'new faces' to battle big names in GE15

Kilimanjaro: First, these ‘fresh face’ MCA candidates have to find out why the electorate rejected their party. MCA has been riding high since independence, except for a slight dent in 1969.

Since 2008, its declining fortunes have netted the heads of a number of MCA candidates and this ended up with a pathetic situation of the party boss, Wee Ka Siong, scraping through with a hair-thin majority and was the only candidate who survived.

What led to this pathetic situation? The obvious factor was how the party pandered to the dictates of Umno and how this has reduced the party to a subservient position instead of being an equal partner in BN.

Even a slight remark from former party president Dr Chua Soi Lek "offended" Umno. All he asked was why government policies are being discussed in Umno meetings and not the BN meetings. A fair question, right? But not to Umno.

Umno pictured a dominant race and this led to the dilution of voices and parties like MCA and MIC, making it look like they were more interested in letting Umno decide for all Malaysians. There is a talk on this too - that so long as Umno keeps the MCA and MIC leaders happy, Umno can go on with its business as usual.

If you believe that the people turned away from MCA because they were emotional, then you still have a long, long way to go. Greenhorns like you may get carried away but fail to understand the pulse of the people.

Would you dare to stand up to Umno for its excesses? Even if you want to, would your bosses allow you?

The Chinese don't voice it aloud but they know what they are doing. And they are fair people. Despite Malays abandoning former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1999, the Chinese still voted for him and BN.

So, if you youngsters want to make it in Malaysian politics, don't follow your leaders. After all, these are leaders who have lost the confidence of the people. Go with an open mind and find out what the people have lost and hope to regain.

By nature, the Chinese are enterprising. So, when Umno questioned the Chinese asking ”What more do the Chinese want?” after the 2013 election, that was a slap on the face of the Chinese. And who among the Chinese leaders took the Umno politicians to task?

Of course, corruption may not have started under former premier Najib Abdul Razak but he had the position, power and authority to stop it. And what did he do? He expanded the business of corruption from millions to billions.

And does it sound like a joke to you when his stepson made a Hollywood movie using funds from 1MDB?

In 60 years, BN/Umno made this country world famous for the wrong reasons - as a global leader in kleptocracy.

When it was in power, Pakatan Harapan earned a reduction in Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI). That feat was achieved in less than two years, and MCA was one of the culprits that supported a regime that brought down a duly-elected government through the backdoor.

If you know of anyone in Harapan who is corrupt, let us know. Whether the MACC does the job or not, we will make that person pay.

Yes, the DAP does not have exclusive rights to serve/represent the Chinese. Are you suggesting that the DAP politicians went around and forced the Chinese to vote for them?

LoyarBurok: These idealistic young aspirants (Lee Haw Chen, Saw Yee Fung and Chua Jian Boon) get overly excited when they are chosen to stand against seats that the old Turks in MCA will not touch with a 10-foot pole.

Yes, they have nothing to lose. But ask yourselves: are you condoning the thieves that have robbed and stolen tens of millions and billions that are meant for the development of the country and for the people? And that the country is more divided and racially impaired?

Wake up and search your conscience whether your ideals, determination and hard work are worth fighting for. Surely you are fully aware of the current political scenario that the country is facing.

TC: Umno is BN and BN is Umno. There is only one MCA ideology, and it works sometimes. When Umno win - and even MCA has no support and seat – it will give some titbits to MCA.

Win one seat out of 222 seats, MCA gets a minister’s post. Some get to earn a bit of cheap money like in Penang, where they are put in charge of the Penang Port Commission, among others.

These yuppies may be right. There is something to gain. After all, they don't have to fork out any personal money for nomination, campaign, cash handouts and dinners. This is a chance for a few weeks of cheap ego and publicity.

NoobMaster69: Your Umno boss just called you a loser in Alor Setar, Kedah. This is how little they think of MCA. Why would the Chinese vote for MCA? Even if today, they win 30 seats they will still be seen as a second-class entity. The highest ministry they can get is the Transport Ministry.

MCA candidates might be good, but the party policy of sucking up to Umno wouldn’t make them grow. Will they even dare to voice up against Umno? What had MCA achieved after coming through the back door as government?

The only time MCA actually behaves like a proper political party is when they are in the opposition.

Mano: I once had a young MCA lawyer telling me he would be standing for elections prior to the 14th general election (GE14). He was so emphatic that the 1MDB fiasco was an illusion created by the opposition.

Maybe these youngsters have no choice but to try hard to ensure a win for BN, lest their kith and kin get charged with corruption - as Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi suggested during the MIC conference.

Tell me, which right-thinking person will side with crooks? - Mkini