GE13: Chandra – Significant Chinese vote swing has implications
“This is a great pity because we are a multi-ethnic society. No MCA representation in the government would be a setback to the multi-ethnic and kongsi (share) policies we believe in,” he told The Star.
The significant swing in Chinese votes towards Pakatan Rakyat has several implications as the country moves forward in the aftermath of an extremely tense 13th general election, said Dr Chandra Muzaffar.
The International Movement for Just World (JUST) president said the overwhelming Chinese preference for DAP had resulted in a lack of community representation in the new Barisan Nasional government.
He pointed out that MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek had said the party would not take up any government posts if its performance worsened from the 2008 general election.
It had won 15 parliamentary seats in 2008, while at press time, the MCA won just eight seats this time.
“This is a great pity because we are a multi-ethnic society. No MCA representation in the government would be a setback to the multi-ethnic and kongsi (share) policies we believe in,” he told The Star.
Dr Chandra believed that there would be a strong backlash from the Malay community as well, saying that many of them believed that Barisan chairman and Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had “bent over backwards” to win Chinese hearts in the past five years.
He said this could in turn affect Najib’s position within Umno itself, as his efforts to woo the Chinese had not yielded the hoped-for results.
Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute CEO Tan Sri Michael Yeoh said the big swing in Chinese voters towards DAP had occurred because they believed Barisan would be booted out of office.
Calling it a “Chinese tsunami”, he said it was quite clear the results showed greater racial polarisation with the rural Malays moving largely back to Umno as well.
“What’s important is that there has to be some form of healing for the nation. We must bring the people back together again in the next several months,” he said.
International Islamic University of Malaysia professor Datuk Seri Dr Syed Arabi Idid hoped that MCA would not relinquish its representation in the Government.
He felt the strong Chinese swing was not so much about racial polarisation but was based on issues.
“Moving forward, Barisan should address some issues of national interest that cut across all political parties and resolve them together with the opposition,” he said, adding that Najib’s message of national reconciliation was a very positive stand.
