AFTER suffering its worst electoral outing in 2013, MCA has to do better in the next polls or it will face a very uncertain future, said the party’s deputy president Dr Wee Ka Siong.
Wee was under no illusions when he told The Malaysian Insight it’s a do or die battle for the MCA in GE14.
He said MCA must retain the seven parliamentary seats and eleven state seats it won in the 13th general election.
“For us, this is a do or die battle. We have to turn around our poor performances in the last two general elections. We must improve on it.”
MCA is the second largest party in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.
While declining to paint his vision of what would happen if the party failed, Wee chose to be optimistic.
He said the party hit rock bottom in the last general election.
But, judging by how Chinese voters had voted for the party in the by-elections after that, he felt that MCA’s fortunes were on an upswing.
“I think the long winter has passed and the spring has come for us. The overall atmosphere is still relatively upbeat compared with 2013,” he said.
Wee said many Chinese had bought into the opposition’s clarion call of “ini kali, lah” (this is the time) of government change during the last general election.
“But the opposition did not win and form the government and many Chinese discovered that they had made a mistake and found that their voice in government had been weakened,” he said.
Wee noted that many Chinese voters realised that the party, by being in the federal government, was better placed to solve some of the problems faced by the community.
He said this was true in relation to matters relating to business.
“When it comes to matters of livelihood, we are well placed to help the community resolve some of its grouses,” he said.
Wee felt the opposition, particularly DAP’s alliance with PAS in 2013, had left many disillusioned.
He said many Chinese voters felt cheated that they had voted for the Islamist party.
But DAP and PAS severed ties in 2015, bringing an end to the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.
BN will now be up against Pakatan Harapan, a coalition comprising DAP, PKR, PAS splinter Amanah and Bersatu.
On Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Pakatan Harapan’s prime minister-designate, Wee said DAP was banking on the veteran politician to bring in rural Malay votes.
“But what would have happened if the Chinese bought into his arguments and went with him but PH fails to capture Putrajaya?”
He noted the MCA needed young Chinese voters the way the opposition also needed their votes.
“Many first-time voters don’t know what Malaysia was like was under Dr Mahathir’s stewardship.
“They may be attracted to his pitch. But they have no memory of what it was like,” Wee said, suggesting it was better for them to stick with the tried and trusted BN under Najib Razak. – February 16, 2018.
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Bye bye Gerakan & MCA...
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