Is Malaysia on the cusp of a second take-off?
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Media statement by Johor DAP Chairman and Pakatan Harapan candidate for Ayer Hitam, Liew Chin Tong, on 19th April 2018 in Yong Peng:
Rumours has it that the Johor MCA State Liaison Committee is planning to organise a mega rally to resist what it calls an attempt to eliminate MCA. The question is, who is MCA resisting? Could it be UMNO?
MCA has yet to settle seat negotiations with the ‘big-brother’ UMNO, and as a result, there are in-fighting among local branches.
In the 2013 general election, UMNO took over MCA seats of Kuantan, Wangsa Maju and Gelang Patah. MCA might not get Kuantan in GE14 and there is a quarrel over the Wangsa Maju seat.
This time around MCA might also lose Bandar Tun Razak, Tebrau and Lumut.
This is really bad for MCA. Even its seemingly winnable seats were taken away by UMNO, and UMNO intend to grab even more seats from MCA.
Can we see now who is trying to eliminate MCA?
Even MCA Deputy President Wee Ka Siong has confirmed that the party had to for UMNO President Najib Razak to announce the selected MCA candidates.
Compare this to Pakatan Harapan. At our convention on 7th January 2018, we had agreed on the 165 parliamentary seat allocations that we intended to contest in Semenanjung. (Our comrades in Sabah and Sarawak have resolved their seat allocations amicably.)
This is the very first time in history that the opposition completed their seat negotiations so quickly. Whereas component parties of BN are still fighting and arguing, even threatening to leave BN, over seat negotiations.
They had no choice but to ask big-brother the UMNO President to settle their dispute before they can make any announcement.
Leaving their fate in the hands of UMNO President creates more problems. It is common knowledge that UMNO pushes its weight around in the coalition where there is no such thing as equal partnership.
UMNO is trying to save itself through gerrymandering by redelineating constituencies. By manipulating its marginal seats by segregating voters by race and ethnicity, UMNO will have a better chance of winning those seats.
However, the side effect of the redelineation diminishes MCA’s chances of winning its so-called winnable seats.
MCA did oppose the proposal for the redelineation in September 2016 but, as a subservient member of UMNO-led BN, it provided full support when the redelineation motion was debated in Parliament on the 28th March this year. It was a suicidal decision for MCA.
Hopefully MCA’s mega rally will display the truth, and not barking up the wrong tree. It is clear that UMNO is the real architect behind the elimination of MCA. MCA leaders should realise by now who their real enemies are.
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