In the 2013 general election campaign, one of the slogans that MCA came up with was “A vote for DAP is a vote for PAS”.
This was meant to spook the non-Malay electorate who had pivoted towards then-opposition block Pakatan Rakyat, led mainly by PKR, DAP and PAS, following divisive rhetoric by the Umno-led BN coalition.
Hoping that playing on the sentiments of the Chinese that the Islamist party will trample on the rights of non-Muslims, MCA embarked on a strategy to demonise PAS and capitalise on the Chinese community’s fears and prejudices.
It is not that these fears were unfounded.
Several issues had begun to drive a wedge between the government and the non-Muslim electorate. The ban on the use of “Allah” by Christians, the emergence of Malay rights group Perkasa which demonstrated extremist tendencies, the brain drain that was impacting our competitive edge, and what was perceived as the abuse of affirmative action policies by those in power were just a handful of issues.
MCA then was understandably getting worried as the Chinese voters shifted towards DAP. In the 2008 general election, MCA lost 16 parliamentary seats.
MCA lost a further eight seats in 2013, bringing its representation in the Dewan Rakyat to just seven. DAP meanwhile increased its seats to 28 in 2008 and 38 in 2013, while regaining the state of Penang which it wrested from Gerakan-led BN in 2008.
In an interview with then-party president Chua Soi Lek, he said there would come a time when MCA would be redundant, and DAP would become the next leading Chinese party.
He made this prediction several months before the 2013 general election. Another matter that Chua predicted was that DAP would forge an alliance with Umno and eventually help form the government, holding many key positions.
Chua is a brilliant politician with clairvoyant-like abilities who read the ground five years before it happened.
Today, following the 2018 general election, PPBM is leading the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government. It is led by DAP’s once-sworn enemy, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and comprises former Umno leaders.
DAP holds six ministerial posts, including the powerful finance portfolio as well as communications and multimedia – ministries that control finance and oversee media matters and digital communications, among others.
Back to the Umno-PAS marriage. One wonders if MCA will now have to eat humble pie as after announcing its plan to exit from the BN coalition along with its Indian partner MIC, it has now applied the brakes.
Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan, who is also BN acting chairman, deserves credit for playing the role of a unifier. Nazri Aziz who added fuel to the fire by saying MCA and MIC know where the door is, is no longer BN secretary-general.
In its attempt to maintain its hold over the majority Malay votes which still elude PH, Umno could have taken the easy way out by divorcing its partners of over 60 years.
But smart politics is one that looks towards the future and one that acknowledges that this country can never move forward if the races are not united.
Whether it was a subtle threat or not, Bossku was right when he said it would not be healthy if BN wins the election without the support of the non-Malays.
While the present government is perhaps the most multiracial this country has ever had, it still has some way to go as a government that represents all Malaysians, especially the Malays. The lack of economic policies, the loss of jobs since May 9, 2018, some DAP leaders veering into no-go zones like talking about selling Tabung Haji assets and the rebadging of old BN initiatives give the impression that the welfare of the Malays is better managed by Umno.
The shock results of the Semenyih by-election is one barometer that should not be taken lightly.
MCA meanwhile finds itself in a conundrum. How will the leadership face the 1,637 delegates who had resolved to dissolve BN? How does it continue to claim to hold the moral high ground when its major partner is in bed with a party whose leaders have demonised non-Malays, benefitted from the theft of public funds through the 1MDB kleptocracy, and use religion to legitimise wrongdoings?
I don’t think Wee Ka Siong’s hair could get any whiter considering his limited options in saving this once formidable party, especially as “face” is very important to the Chinese.
He could say it is important for MCA to continue to be part of the BN coalition to ensure that if voters vote along racial lines in 2023 and Umno re-takes Putrajaya, the welfare of the Chinese will still be taken care of through MCA, who by then could only be represented in Cabinet through senate posts.
Terence Fernandez is a stakeholder relations consultant.
The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.