BN partners should never fear ‘big brother’ Umno

By Paul Sir (Malaysian Mirror)

In a recent interview with Malaysiakini, suspended Deputy MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek brought up an interesting point – how he will handle Umno if he were the leader of the MCA.

“There is more than one way to skin a cat. Similarly, there is more than one way for MCA to deal with Umno”, Chua said philosophically.

According to him, MCA president Ong Tee Keat prefers a more confrontational approach when dealing with Umno, the ‘big brother’ of Barisan Nasional.

Chua stressed his emphasis was towards garnering support for BN because that is the common platform which MCA candidates stand on during elections.

For the coalition to thrive, MCA must then forge strong ties within the BN coalition, including Umno, said Chua.

By now, most of us know what is going on in the MCA.

Sex scandal difficult to erase

The ‘Triple 10’ (10am on the 10th day of the 10th month) extraordinary general meeting will be a ‘winner takes all’ battle for either Ong or Chua. Both had declared that it would be the end of their political career should they not survive the vote.

It has been speculated that Chua is unhappy at being sidelined by the party while Ong must have felt it improper to put up a person tainted by immoral behaviour for public office.

Indeed, Chua’s ‘porn star’ tag is something that is unlikely to go away, ever.

People still remember DP Vijandran’s sex videos even when the incident happened some 20 years ago. And Malaysians will not forget Bill Clinton’s indiscretion with Monica Lewinsky even though that has nothing to do with us. But Chua did better than Clinton. He was brave enough to own up immediately while Clinton lied through his teeth until he was cornered.

But what Chua brought up – the way to handle Umno – is a subject worth a further look at.

Looking at the current crop of presidents of BN component parties, I can safely conclude that MIC supremo Samy Vellu and MCA president Ong Tee Keat would be able to stand as tall as and be at par with Najib Abdul Razak, the prime minister and Umno president. I’m afraid I cannot say that of Gerakan’s Dr Koh Tsu Koon though. (Pity Dr Lim Keng Yaik is no longer at Gerakan's helm. I doubt anyone in Umno had dared to bully Keng Yaik in the past.)

Why? Samy was already a senior Cabinet member when Najib was just a ‘baby minister’. Say what you like about Samy. He has the guts to stand up to Umno, ‘big brother’ or not! Najib would have a lot of quiet respect for the veteran MIC president too.

Ong Tee Keat’s no-nonsense approach is one that would stand out in his dealings with other BN partners, Umno included.

Chua is probably right. There are many ways to build a relationship with Umno leaders. How he is different from Ong here is that the MCA president is considered a very tough nut to crack and is unlikely to budge once he has made up his mind on something.

It is perhaps true what Chua said about him being gung-ho in his language with Umno leaders. Then, it could also be true that Ong knows too well how Umno will treat him if he is seen as a weak, vulnerable personality. So he has to be tough and act tough, even with ‘big brother’ Umno.

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