Who cares about MCA’s party crisis?
By LIM MUN FAH/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily
There must be an end to the struggle between MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and former Deputy President Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek.
The decisive battle will be on 10 Oct. The 2377 central delegates will determine the fate of Ong and Dr Chua. To some extent, it is going to outline a vision for MCA.
Basically, there are three options:
- Ong stays while Dr Chua leaves;
- Ong leaves while Dr Chua stays;
- Both Ong and Dr Chua leave.
No matter how the result turns out, it will be a “speechless outcome”.
The confusing MCA party struggle has been greatly reported by Chinese-language newspapers everyday. However, the longer delay for the democracy related power struggle, the less readers are interested in. Their tiredness has as well shown between the lines.
Now, other than the central delegates and those whose interests are involved, who else cares about MCA's party crisis?
“Uncles” and “Aunties” in the office, coffee shops and other public places are still talking about it but I'm sorry to say that most of them do not actually care about whether MCA is going to collapse. Instead, they are just watching the fun.
| "I am still cautiously optimistic about MCA's future." |
I ran into Huang and Chen outside a betting station yesterday. They shouted at me before I was able to greet them: “They have stopped receiving bets on 2377 and 1010!”
However, Li was still concerned about MCA's party crisis.
Li is a Pakatan Rakyat grass-root leader. He met with a few friends yesterday to conduct a survey. He asked: “If Ong stays and Dr Chua leaves, how much the percentage of Chinese support can MCA gain? If Ong leaves and Dr Chua stays, how much the percentage of Chinese votes can MCA keep?”
Of course, the above mentioned situations are two extreme examples.
Huang and Chen do not represent the whole Chinese community. However, it is an indisputable fact that the Chinese community's degree of concern and attention towards MCA is rapidly declining.
“I don't care” is indeed a typical mentality of today's Chinese community towards MCA's party crisis.
As for Li, you cannot say that he is “taking pleasure in others' misfortune”. He is just measuring the current situation for a longer survival. As a politician, his survey is appropriate, fair and reasonable.
Really, all the 2377 MCA central delegates should keep a ruler in their hearts like Li. They should carefully assess whether the Chinese community prefers Ong or Dr Chua (Perhaps, they can think reversely that whether the Chinese community hates Ong or Dr Chua more)?
The central delegates should as well calmly think about whether MCA will rise again after the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) or collapse beyond redemption, as predicted by the Prime Minister: winning the party election but losing the general elections?
Please do not doubt my intention. I am still cautiously optimistic about MCA's future. Because I believe that if the party can get rid of such corrupted, dark and decadent struggles and be brave enough to change, MCA still has a change to revive. Just that the stark reality has scared me away from having high expectations!
