MCA, MIC benefit when Umno is strong, says analyst

 The MCA victory in Chennah, ousting DAP's Loke Siew Fook, is believed to be the result of Malay voters going out ‘in droves’ to support Barisan Nasional.

Queueing up to vote in Negeri Sembilan on Saturday. One of the highest voter turnouts was in Chennah, where MCA achieved a “giant-killer” result.

PETALING JAYA:

The electoral prospects of MCA and MIC remain closely tied to the strength of Umno and their cooperation in the Barisan Nasional, says an analyst after MCA won two seats in the Negeri Sembilan state election on Saturday.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said the victory of MCA’s Siow Kong Choon in Chennah over DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook showed how BN component parties can benefit when the coalition is strong.

He said MCA’s performance was commendable, with “giant-killer” results in Chennah and Repah, losing five of its seven contests.

“About 67% of voters in Chennah are Malays, and the constituency recorded one of the highest voter turnouts. That most probably helped MCA, because Malay voters went out in droves to support BN.

“It shows that if Umno and BN are strong, MCA and MIC stand to benefit from that strength,” he told FMT.

In Chennah, which Loke had held for three terms, Siow won by a 688-vote margin to regain the seat for MCA, while in Repah, Koh Kim Swee also regained the seat by defeating four-term assemblyman Veerapan Superamaniam of DAP by 444 votes.

Azmi said BN should retain its existing seat-sharing formula between Umno, MCA and MIC for the coming Melaka state election.

Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia cautioned against interpreting MCA’s performance as a broader revival for the party. “Winning two out of seven doesn’t really scream an MCA revival,” she said. “At most, it says MCA is still capable of pulling votes in mixed seats.”

However, the Chennah victory was significant, as it showed that non-Malay voters could no longer be regarded as a guaranteed vote bank for PH, even in a seat Loke had held for three terms.

“Of course, MCA won because Malays voted in support of BN, but I think the message overall is that DAP should not feel too confident about non-Malay voters any more,” she said.

How MIC fared

MIC’s failure to win Seremban Jaya and Sri Tanjung was not unexpected, as both constituencies were widely regarded as DAP strongholds, Syaza said.

She said MCA outperformed MIC because it had a clearer campaign narrative centred on defeating DAP, while MIC’s theme was about convincing Indian voters that MIC is still relevant – “not very compelling when there are other multiracial parties that can do the same”.

She said MCA should now build on its electoral gains by focusing on policies and constituency work, rather than relying solely on anti-DAP sentiment, while MIC should reassess its support among Indian voters and field more winnable candidates. - FMT