Annuar: Umno needs to stand with MCA under BN’s cooperation spirit
(The Star) – Internal fights in Umno were not only about Malays but on how to accommodate the Chinese.
Umno will sink or swim with its coalition partners to help Barisan Nasional parties regain support – especially from the Chinese community.
Umno information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa singled out MCA as being “very important to us”.
Annuar, who met state Umno information chiefs at the Putra World Trade Centre, said he was given the mandate during the meeting to find out how to help MCA.
Under Barisan’s spirit of cooperation, he said, Umno needed to stand with MCA.
“The country and the Chinese are where they are today because of the contributions of MCA. Let’s be blunt about this,” he said.
He added that the deeds of the party – since the time of MCA founding president, the late Tun Tan Cheng Lock, until now – could not be wiped out from history.
While he said it was not easy to shake Umno and Barisan, they were concerned with the polarisation in terms of votes among the Chinese.
Annuar said he was not proud of the fact that DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok had won during the last general election, with a majority of 50,000.
“She can claim to have won a high popular vote but is that good for the political situation in the country?” he asked.
Annuar recounted the time when Chinese and Indian friends could win in constituencies where their own race were the minority because the Malays voted for them.
“But this is being lost because of polarisation,” he said.
Annuar said Umno’s philosophy of moderation was jeopardised by chauvinist racial politics brought by certain people.
“We are worried because this country, from day one was multiracial,” he said.
Annuar pointed out that internal fights in Umno were not only about Malays but on how to accommodate the Chinese.
This, he said, included the time when Umno founder Datuk Onn Jaafar wanted to open up the party to all races but was met with resistance.
“The first fight in Umno was to preserve friendship with the Chinese,” he said.
Annuar claimed that now, even the Chinese who supported Barisan were not voting.
“We can’t run without Chinese leaders in Government.
“But how long can we have Chinese leaders who don’t have the support of the Chinese community?” he said.
