MCA’s future
For party outsiders, the focus is actually not on who is going to lead the MCA in the future, but what kind of party would the MCA be after changing its leadership.
Lim Mun Fah, Sin Chew Daily
After experiencing a great defeat, the call for MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s resignation has grown stronger. The infighting has surfaced and the party election scheduled in the end of this year is expected to be an arena fighting for the party’s top posts. Deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai has been the first to announce his wish to contest for the presidency, lifting the curtain of the fight.
Who else would be contesting? Would former president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat make a comeback? Would the incumbent president hand-pick his successor? How about followers of another former president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting? What would MCA Youth Chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong do? These questions will certainly be the focus of the media, as well as those who are interested in politics.
The MCA party election is scheduled in December this year and any unexpected changes could take place within the following five months. Therefore, it is still too early to say who has the highest winning odds.
For party outsiders, the focus is actually not on who is going to lead the MCA in the future, but what kind of party would the MCA be after changing its leadership.
The challenge before them is, under the new situation after the general election, how should the MCA adjust its position?
Should the BN coalition get rid of racial political structure and become a cross-racial party? The question has been debated and there is still no answer for it. Meanwhile, the question of whether the MCA should merge with Gerakan and the SUPP has again raised.
The MCA must consider whether it should transform from a single-stream racial party into a multi-racial party. How much room is less for racial party, particular those representing minority racial groups, to survive in Malaysia?
Eighty to ninety percent of Chinese voters had voted for the DAP, a multi-racial party, in the recent general election, instead of the MCA claiming itself the representative of the Chinese. In fact, it has adequately explained that Chinese no longer care about a party’s racial representation, but whether the party is capable of bringing them hope and showing them vision.
MCA leaders must be very clear that the relationship between the MCA and Umno has been caught in a quagmire. The MCA became strong in early days after forming the coalition with Umno and to a certain extent, shared power with Umno. However, it has gradually lost its voice and autonomy under the one-party dominance system. Eventually, the MCA fell and defeated after losing the confidence and support of Chinese voters.
It is not entirely correct for the MCA to blame Umno or its confronting parties for demonising the it. If the MCA is unable to face the fact that it has disconnected with the Chinese community while failing in winning trust and respect of the new generations of other racial groups, particularly the intelligentsia, but just keep blaming the obstacles after falling down without reflecting itself, not even trying to reform, seek the answer why many Chinese have cast it aside and look for a new direction for internal reforms, it will be destined to keep sinking or worse, become a bubble and vanish.
The future of MCA does not lie in how much party member support the new leadership can win, but whether the party is able to learn from its mistakes and thoroughly repent. Therefore, for MCA members, it is more important to choose the new direction for the party, instead of choosing the new top leader!
