In Umno, MCA’s future lies
Indeed even in the current Kuala Terengganu by-election campaign, the key Chinese vote is already leaning towards Pas, an Islamist party which has ideals anathema to the Chinese. And many of the 8,000 over Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu are reportedly MCA members.
By Leslie Lau and Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider
With its top two leaders barely on speaking terms, and having lost the support of a majority of the Chinese in Malaysia, the MCA has been trying to reinvent itself as a more vocal party willing to stand up for the community.
It has weighed in more strongly on issues like the concept of Ketuanan Melayu, or Malay Supremacy, Hudud, and it is even questioning a number of government policies.
But still, analysts say the party will have little hope of regaining the backing of the Chinese if there are no reforms in Umno, the MCA's senior partner in Barisan Nasional (BN) which has been perceived, despite the denials of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, as a bully in the ruling coalition.
"There is no need to talk about what MCA does now. The DAP is the party of the Chinese," a business tycoon who once had close ties with former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, told The Malaysian Insider recently.
Indeed even in the current Kuala Terengganu by-election campaign, the key Chinese vote is already leaning towards Pas, an Islamist party which has ideals anathema to the Chinese. And many of the 8,000 over Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu are reportedly MCA members.
Since last year's general election, MCA has been struggling to make itself relevant again, as Chinese Malaysians gave their vote to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and now hail DAP as their political leaders.
The party has been attacking both PR and BN policies and statements in a bid to realign itself with the aspirations of its constituents.
Most recently, president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat announced that the party would look into setting up a platform to allow the public to give feedback on the party and its activities.
None of these initiatives have excited the Chinese community yet. The MCA's more critical stand on issues is also being perceived as hypocritical.
The spat between Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, the MCA president, and Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, his deputy, has not helped the party's cause.
A central committee member told The Malaysian Insider that when he visited Kuala Terengganu recently, he found that support was "dampened, as the Chinese voters were frustrated that the party did not seem united."
More important is the fact that the MCA is finding it hard to shake off the perception that the party is subservient to Umno.
Observers say that the party has been tasked to hype up the issue of hudud among Chinese voters on BN's behalf as the strict Islamic code is a thorny issue for Umno itself to handle among the Malay electorate.
Party insiders however, say that the central issue for Chinese voters is whether or not MCA even has the ear of Umno in addressing Chinese issues.
Simply being the "opposition voice in BN" is not enough, but it has to be able to "articulate and create an actual impact."
A recent independent survey found that three-quartersof Chinese voters in Kuala Terengganu felt that by voting for PR, it could send a signal to BN to treat non-Bumiputeras more equally.
Political analyst Wong Chin Huat believes that if Umno loses and learns this lesson, then ironically, it could do more good for MCA.
"Then Umno will realise that it must hand component parties such as MCA a greater measure of political clout to regain the confidence of non-Malay voters, or face losing more seats where non-Malays represent the swing vote in the next general election," he said.
"If it does not push for reform from a position where it is willing to leave BN, then being vocal only makes them a paper tiger," Wong concluded.
Pointedly, in the run-up to the MCA polls last October, Ong had said, "There is no such thing as an eternal partnership."
