When the MCA conducted a public protest against government policies, KTemoc always get mighty suspicious. So when MCA members staged a rare* demonstration a couple of days ago against the government’s approval of toll charge hikes at five Klang Valley highways, I try to look beyond their altruistic intentions.
* note malaysiakini use of this adjective
The 50-odd protestors, armed with banners and placards, held a minimal 15-minute-long protest (to comply cosily with police instructions) at the Bandar Sunway toll plaza along the Lebuhraya Puchong-Damansara highway.
The demonstration was led by MCA Puchong Youth division chief Theng Book. Its division chief Wong Hock Aun and MCA Kelana Jaya Youth chief Lee You Hin were also present.
Wah, local MCA big guns lah!
Theng told reporters: “We are not totally objecting the toll hikes if it is a 10 percent hike. A 60 percent (at the LDP) hike or 40 percent at the Kesas highway are drastic, we want it to be reviewed to a moderate level.”
Theng, who is also the MCA public services and complaint department’s legal adviser, said an estimated 100,000 residents in Puchong will be severely affected by the new toll rates since there is no other alternative main road in the area.
“The entire Puchong area is surrounded by five toll plazas and all these toll plazas are almost all the routes that the Puchong residents will have to use.”
It’s now becoming clear why the MCA dares to (in fact needs to) protest against a government approved policy. MCA is looking after its political backside, its election prospect, since most of the people affected by the toll charge hikes are potential voters for MCA, or alternatively DAP (or PKR – Tian Chua must be licking his lips).
As I had blogged often on this issue, I say it again, that UMNO (and not the DAP) represents the greatest undermining factor for MCA. UMNO has frequently made decisions that have been against Chinese Malaysians' and therefore MCA’s interest without ever consulting the latter. For the MCA it's basically an issue of demi bangsa, not unlike that of all ethnic parties, chief among whom is UMNO.
To add insult to injury UMNO expects the MCA to blindly support its decisions, which explains why in the past, MCA candidates have to hide in Malay dominated constituencies to ever get elected to parliament. UMNO OK-ed that because they needed some multi-ethnic window dressing.
Mind you, if I am not mistaken the current parliamentary representative for Puchong is a Gerakan bloke, Lau Yeng Peng. However, I did hear whispers of some exchanges of electoral seats among the BN parties, between UMNO, MCA and Gerakan. I wonder whether the MCA has been assigned Puchong for the next run.
If it hasn’t, then I wonder what MCA is up to, perhaps trying to upstage its old rival, Gerakan?
Any 'Datuks' or 'Tan Sris" among the demonstrators? If there were, they should be prepared for their datukships or tansriships to be withdrawn by the respective sultans. That's the reason all the MCA/Gerakan bigshots stayed away.
ReplyDeleteI think KTemoc is right. The whole demonstration is just for show. The rate hikes are going to stay.
ReplyDeleteReal action would be to strongly object in Parliament, direct communication to Samy and Badawi.