MCA will not be able to turn the tide and win back the support of Chinese voters, who will continue to vote for DAP, political analysts said.

They told The Malaysian Insight that Chinese voters will only consider voting for MCA if DAP performs poorly.

International Islamic University of Malaysia assistant professor Lau Zhe Wei said MCA has not changed and was continuing in its old political momentum.

This, Lau said, was the reason why the party has not been able to shake off its negative image.

He said for MCA to gain votes, it is contingent on DAP making grave mistakes. In other words, MCA’s success is dependent on DAP’s failure, he added.

“Chinese voters support Pakatan Harapan (PH) and DAP. If PH’s leaders – such as PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng – make mistakes, only then will voters support MCA,” he said.

While both MCA and DAP have the experience of running the country, DAP has the advantage with its clean leaders.

DAP leaders have also been able to make the Chinese voters trust them, he said.

“Chinese voters still support DAP. Even if MCA has a minister that works hard and is not embroiled in any scandal, it is still not enough to change its image.”

In the past, he said, voters believed that Barisan Nasional was the ruling government, while MCA was the Chinese representative in that coalition.

It is this mentality that kept Chinese voters voting for MCA for a long time, he said.

This ideology, Lau said, was broken in the 2008 general election by DAP, and once it was destroyed, it has been difficult for MCA to re-establish itself.

The catalytic change in the 2008 election has also extended to non-Chinese voters in urban areas, he added.

Looking at GE15, Lau said DAP will continue to win the Chinese votes and at most lose one or two seats.

MCA, he said, has not been able to convince the voters to support them mainly due to its support for the “back-door government” and standing side-by-side with Umno.

“MCA is still stuck in the past. Unless it is able to win more seats in the next election and show improved performance from its lawmakers, it’s difficult for the party to move forward,” Lau said.

Support for MCA has been slowly declining since the 2008 general election. In the last national poll, the party was annihilated, with 95% of Chinese voters choosing to vote for DAP.

The party’s reputation has further deteriorated following the Sheraton move, which led to the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government after 22 months.

No progress under MCA

Veteran newsman Cheah See Kian said in the many years that MCA was in power, it has done nothing for the community and there were no reforms in place.

“The Chinese community has given MCA too many opportunities. They have supported MCA in all previous general elections and yet they still feel left out.

“The party has two seats and it is in a coalition that is not multiracial, dominated by a single race.

“Whether the government is under the new prime minister, Umno, or Bersatu, it is directionless. The same is true for MCA.”

The Chinese voter trend in the 2008, 2013 and 2018 general election has also affected the voting trends of the Malay and Indian communities in the urban areas, he said.

A vote for DAP is now considered a vote for change. Having said that, DAP has also not done enough to speak up for the Chinese community to fulfil their promises, Cheah said.

Nevertheless, this failure, Cheah said, was still not enough to sway voters to vote for MCA, even if the party worked hard.

“DAP and Pakatan are in a more favourable position. Asking Chinese voters to vote for MCA while it is aligned with Umno is akin to voting for the Malay nationalist party.”

He said MCA should work on its image and start speaking up.

Unless there are reforms within the party, MCA will remain toothless even in a ruling coalition.

Race-based politics outdated

MCA spokesman Chan Quin Er said while the party works along racial lines, its doors are nevertheless open to any Malaysian who needs help.

“The general posture of MCA has always been how best we can meet gaps in serving the government, making use of our incumbency to keep our focus on serving our community needs and keeping an open door to any Malaysian who is seeking help through our numerous touch points with the rakyat.

“This is not a position taken because MCA has ‘lost support’ of the Chinese since 2018. It is an actual empirical fact that MCA has never selected groups to help based on their race – either by prioritising a certain race or ignoring others,” she said.

MCA also believes that it has been a victim of DAP propaganda.

Yet, according to party insiders, after a change in government three times, Chinese voters are better equipped to evaluate DAP’s performance.

“90% of DAP’s supporters are Chinese, which led to them winning 42 seats. Even so, they have performed poorly compared to MCA who only has 10% support.

“We are sure that the Chinese voters have come to the same realisation and will not give DAP another chance.” – September 8, 2021.