MCA always accommodative when working with rivals, says Ti

 

Ti Lian Ker (left) said ‘there is no issue’ about remarks by new youth chief Ling Tian Soon.

PETALING JAYA: An outgoing MCA vice-president says the party has always been accommodative when it comes to working with its political partners or rivals for the greater good of the nation.

Ti Lian Ker said as a party that believes in “moderation and moderating”, taking an accommodative route was a stand MCA has never wavered from, which is also reflected in its practices and conventions of many years.

“We are very clear on what we are required to do and what we can or cannot compromise on. There’s no issue with Ling’s statement as we are already together with DAP in supporting the unity government,” he told FMT, referring to MCA’s incoming youth chief Ling Tian Soon’s remarks on Friday.

Ti was responding to the ridicule and mockery on social media following Ling’s statement that MCA was prepared to work with DAP on matters that concern the nation’s interest and the welfare of the people.

MCA had previously swore off any alliance with DAP in the run up to the state elections, be it campaigning for the party or getting members to vote for the latter’s candidate.

Ti however said that any cooperation had its “limitations and boundaries”.

“For now MCA’s cooperation with DAP is to promote greater unity and political stability. However, for a longer and permanent cooperation, the fundamentals of cooperation must first be agreed upon.”

He then repeated his call for DAP to apologise for the labels it used against the Chinese-based party, including accusing MCA of selling out the interest of the community and being “running dogs” to Umno, its allies in Barisan Nasional.

Ti said this would be a good start for a closer and more permanent working relationship between MCA and DAP.

He also said there was nothing unusual about rivals joining forces in the current political arena, noting that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had set aside his differences with Anwar Ibrahim, the then opposition leader prior to Pakatan Harapan wresting Putrajaya from BN in 2018.

And currently, DAP and Umno are now part of the unity government, despite the two being traditional rivals in the past.

“There have been precedents of enemies turned friends , so an MCA-DAP alliance is not impossible,” he said. - FMT