Chua’s stand on Ketuanan Melayu puzzling

ARCHIVES 2010

By admin-s On Dec 10, 2010

By Dato’ Sri Ong Tee Keat

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s stand on Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) is indeed puzzling if one were to revisit his past statement or political stance on the subject matter.

Chua says MCA rejects the master-slave relationship in Barisan Nasional (BN), and adds that there should not be any disparity between “big brother and small brothers” within BN.

I am glad that he finally shares my views on the issue which I expressed clearly in my interview with Bernama (Malaysia’s national news agency) in English way back in 2008.

Coincidentally, on the same issue, Chua was given front page coverage by Utusan Malaysia some time back, when he expressed his open support for Ketuanan Melayu.

His contradictory statements now and then are indeed puzzling, if not amusing. What’s his real position on the subject matter? That is the common question asked.

On Equal Partnership, I still could remember the proposition I put up to the BN leadership on behalf of MCA to allow for better political representation of the various BN component parties at the constituency level, after I took over the Party Presidency in October 2008. The proposition sought to institutionalise the appointment of BN divisional chairmen in accordance with the parliamentary seat allocation.

Should the BN candidate from a particular component party win, he or she should be automatically appointed as BN division head. In the case of losing the seat, the component party’s division chief should be made to head the BN division.

Unfortunately, the endorsement of the proposal did not translate into action when Chua, in his capacity as the Johor MCA chief, succumbed to the demands of Johor Umno by surrendering all the BN divisional chairmanship to Umno in the name of preserving existing tradition.

I was also stunned when Chua further justified the “surrender” to the lack of quality party leaders. He said the MCA local chiefs were deemed below the mark in leadership and could not command the respect of other leaders, especially those from Umno.

This might be the water below the bridge but I am duty-bound to reveal the untold stories that may help portray the real scenario to the public. I am disappointed with the conspicuous lack of consistency in Chua’s words and deeds.