MCA boss’ stand a veiled threat
By RK Anand, Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek’s statement that his party will review its government appointments should it perform badly in the next polls can be construed as a veiled threat.
According to MIC’s publicity and communication chief S Vell Paari, the statement was nothing short of a political masterstroke.
“Chua has got the Chinese thinking, they have been presented with the scenario that should they discard MCA in the next polls, they run the risk of losing representatives in the government.
“If Pakatan Rakyat seizes control of Putrajaya in the 13th general election, it will be a different story and the MCA president’s statement will become immaterial.
“But based on the current political climate, the tussles in Pakatan as well as Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s dynamic leadership, it is unlikely that the opposition will form the federal government in the near future.
“And this is where Chua’s stand strikes a chord,” he said when asked to comment on the matter.
Vell Paari said this was the reason why unnerved DAP leaders had attacked Chua, because the opposition party, which vied for the same votes, stood to loose ground if MCA remained steadfast in its stand.
On the same note, the MIC leader stressed that the Chinese community’s socio-economic status was at a point where it could afford to turn its back on the conduit that linked it with the Barisan Nasional government.
“In my opinion, the MCA leadership must have weighed the plus and minus before coming out with such a statement,” he said.
In the aftermath of the Sarawak state election, Chua had urged the Chinese-based SUPP not to accept any positions in the state government because of its dismal performance.
When attacked by DAP, which accused him of turning the election results into a racial issue, the MCA president retaliated by asking if the opposition party felt guilty of robbing the Chinese community in Sarawak of representatives in the state government.
