MCA’s real crisis – the Chinese no longer care
“Over the last one year, the Chinese protest vote is slowly consolidating,” he says. “The EGM will allow the party to sort out its internal conflicts but will not help it attain the wider goal of winning votes.”
By Lee Wei Lian, The Malaysian Insider
Chinese Malaysians appear to have grown increasingly dismissive of the potentially party-shattering power struggle happening in MCA and that is a distressing sign for an organisation which is entrusted by the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to help regain the trust and support of the community.
Some print and online news organisations are facing difficulty engaging readers in the battle between MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and his erstwhile deputy Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek and this appears to reflect the situation on the voting ground.
The largest Chinese language newspaper by circulation in Malaysia, Sin Chew Daily, recently ran a piece titled “Who cares about MCA’s party crisis?”, saying that while it is still talked about within the community, most do not care if MCA collapses.
One online news website has been reluctant to send its video crew to cover the Chua-Ong leadership tussle apparently because such videos “cannot sell”.
Sources in mainly Chinese language news website Merdeka Review say there is hardly any interest in MCA with the exception of the announcement on August 26 that Chua had been sacked, with most of the clicks going to other stories.
“Even the announcement of a minor press conference by Pakatan Rakyat was hotter news than Tan Chai Ho submitting his requisition for an EGM,” says the source.
Analysts say the lack of concern for MCA, a party that was part of the political alliance that won the country its independence, is not surprising due to the switch of ethnic Chinese support to Pakatan Rakyat.
MCA’s Insap think-tank deputy chairman, Rita Sim, says that according to her research, between 80 to 85 per cent of ethnic Chinese now support Pakatan Rakyat.
“The Chinese voters have not shifted back since last year and their position has hardened,” she tells The Malaysian Insider.
Merdeka Centre chief Ibrahim Suffian says that no matter the outcome of the power struggle, MCA will have a tough time reaching out to its traditional constituency.
“Over the last one year, the Chinese protest vote is slowly consolidating,” he says. “The EGM will allow the party to sort out its internal conflicts but will not help it attain the wider goal of winning votes.”
