MCA, MIC wrong to stay away from Kuala Kubu Baharu polls, says Zaid

“A stable government needs a Malay-led government (in its true sense) which gives priority to business development. It can be viable only under the BN model but with (some) modifications”

(FMT) – Zaid Ibrahim laments the decision by MCA and MIC not to participate in the upcoming Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.

The former law minister said at a time when there seems to be racial polarisation in the country, the two Barisan Nasional (BN) components could make a difference to the nation’s politics.

“It is a pity that MCA and MIC have decided not to participate in Kuala Kubu Baharu,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) this morning.

“The country needs a new BN voice but the leaders of MCA and MIC do not see the need to fill the vacuum in the nation’s politics.

“You do not do that by staying away from Kuala Kubu Baharu.”

He was responding to recent reports that MCA and MIC would not participate in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election campaign unless the candidate representing the unity government was from BN.

According to Zaid, the Malays have no issues with MCA and MIC as they had supported both parties when BN was in power.

“The Malays are not anti-Chinese or anti-Indians. They accepted MCA and MIC for (over) 50 years,” he said.

He added that the BN formula also worked at keeping racial politics at bay and maintaining a stable government.

“The Malays were comforted that they were in control of the government. The non-Malays were unhappy but did not feel threatened, and businesses were churning well for everyone.

“A stable government needs a Malay-led government (in its true sense) which gives priority to business development. It can be viable only under the BN model but with (some) modifications,” he said.

Zaid said this was opposed to how the Malays feel about the unity government because they see the DAP as coming from a different mould to that of MCA and MIC.

“They cannot accept the current administration as being a Malay-led government. They believe DAP is in charge,” he said.

He added that the Malays also feared DAP as a party that wanted to destroy Malay political power.