THE role of Wanita MCA in the country’s current political situation is growing more important than ever, MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon said.

He said in the last five years, the outgoing Wanita MCA central committee had always adhered to their posts and persisted to the end in confronting by-elections, state elections and the general glection (GE) while defending the rights of women and promulgating gender equality.

“Our party has been placed in a very difficult situation for more than 10 years and it takes a lot of courage and perseverance to be willing to assume leadership positions in our party at this time. The higher the party position, the heavier the responsibility where intense hard work is expected and required,” he said.

Officiating Wanita MCA’s 48th annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur today, Chong said the new Wanita MCA central committee must assist the party in regaining the support of Chinese voters and returning to mainstream politics in the battle for fair and egalitarian treatment of Malaysians.

“This is certainly a very arduous task and I hope the new Wanita MCA central committee will set this goal as a priority task over the next few years. As an arm of MCA, I hold high expectations of the new Wanita MCA central committee. It is my hope Wanita MCA will continue with the fighting spirit of its predecessors,” he said.

Wanita MCA chief Wong You Fong in her policy speech said the movement is currently facing the ageing phenomenon, adding that there is an urgent need to recruit new members among the youth more aggressively.

“I will lead Wanita MCA to fully engage in implementing three main plans including creating a talent pool by identifying, training and continuously evaluating the relevant talents.

“This is to ensure that they become MCA’s new force, becoming candidates or strategists and so on, and help the party to field more than 30% credible female candidates in the next general election,” she said.

Besides that, Wong said Wanita MCA should enhance its use of social media, making it a core driving force because changing times have rendered traditional door-to-door visits ineffective.

“Pakatan Harapan is seen to be focusing on using Facebook while Perikatan Nasional is on TikTok.  Barisan Nasional cannot solely rely on house visits or Jalinan Rakyat or JR Plus programmes.  

“Publicity methods must be in line with the changing times, (we must) constantly seek innovation and transform to face the general election,” she added.

The 48th Wanita MCA and the 59th MCA Youth annual general meetings were held today ahead of the 70th MCA annual general meeting which will take place tomorrow.

Its 69th general assembly last year was held behind closed doors to allow the party to conduct a self-evaluation and discuss its future direction following the GE. – Bernama, October 21, 2023.