S Thayaparan
Published: Apr 15, 2024 9:00 AM
“Now, it’s fated... They are in power. I’ll leave it to you to do what needs to be done. Prove that you are capable, I will applaud you if you can do it.”
COMMENT | Of course, the DAP and their sycophants think that what the MCA president said is of no value or worthy of mockery, but all this points to is the toxic politics that the DAP has cultivated in its long march to power, the apogee of which was when current DAP big cheese Anthony Loke said he had no issue with BN but had an issue with MCA.
MCA was engaged in nation-building and one could make the argument that although they were a race-based party, Malaysia, especially the Malay community, benefited from what MCA did.
After all, even the old maverick said that without the Chinese community, there would be no industry and cities, and when he said this, he was talking about the community’s powerbrokers, its plutocrats, and of course, the worker bees that Robert Kuok fondly wrote about.
As former MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek reminded us in a series of interviews with Malaysiakini seven years ago, party politics is a treacherous affair and while nation-building, the MCA was riddled with factionalism, personality cults, and always the issue of managing the expectations of the Chinese community and Malay establishment.
Published: Apr 15, 2024 9:00 AM
“Now, it’s fated... They are in power. I’ll leave it to you to do what needs to be done. Prove that you are capable, I will applaud you if you can do it.”
- MCA president Wee Ka Siong
COMMENT | Of course, the DAP and their sycophants think that what the MCA president said is of no value or worthy of mockery, but all this points to is the toxic politics that the DAP has cultivated in its long march to power, the apogee of which was when current DAP big cheese Anthony Loke said he had no issue with BN but had an issue with MCA.
MCA was engaged in nation-building and one could make the argument that although they were a race-based party, Malaysia, especially the Malay community, benefited from what MCA did.
After all, even the old maverick said that without the Chinese community, there would be no industry and cities, and when he said this, he was talking about the community’s powerbrokers, its plutocrats, and of course, the worker bees that Robert Kuok fondly wrote about.
As former MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek reminded us in a series of interviews with Malaysiakini seven years ago, party politics is a treacherous affair and while nation-building, the MCA was riddled with factionalism, personality cults, and always the issue of managing the expectations of the Chinese community and Malay establishment.
Former MCA president Dr Chua Soi lek
Readers will find many familiar faces in this series of interviews which points to the ouroboros nature of politics.
So rancorous Chua was of the former, he said - “The oath of the MCA (oath No 5) that we recite at every major party function - Love Thy Comrades - is a delusion.
“Some politicians stand on the high moral ground and appear to be kind and courteous in public, but they are cruel and heartless. To them, any means justifies the end”.
This, of course, also applies to the DAP and the roster of political operatives who have fallen out of favour with the mandarins in power or discarded for various reasons, pointing to the kind of internal politics which, while toxic, does not have to impede nation building.
The fact that DAP and its base are fairly disciplined either points to the cultish nature that grips the party or the retreat into identity politics that defines the mainstream political discourse in this country.
And so, prophetic of the latter, Chua said – “As a candidate in the election, however, I was more worried that Anwar’s supporters in Umno will not support BN candidates. Fortunately, the Chinese community gave overwhelming support to MCA and Gerakan candidates.
“Umno candidates, on the other hand, suffered as the Anwar factor caused Malay voters to reject the party. It was largely thanks to Chinese support that the BN was able to retain the coveted two-thirds majority in Parliament”.
Readers will find many familiar faces in this series of interviews which points to the ouroboros nature of politics.
So rancorous Chua was of the former, he said - “The oath of the MCA (oath No 5) that we recite at every major party function - Love Thy Comrades - is a delusion.
“Some politicians stand on the high moral ground and appear to be kind and courteous in public, but they are cruel and heartless. To them, any means justifies the end”.
This, of course, also applies to the DAP and the roster of political operatives who have fallen out of favour with the mandarins in power or discarded for various reasons, pointing to the kind of internal politics which, while toxic, does not have to impede nation building.
The fact that DAP and its base are fairly disciplined either points to the cultish nature that grips the party or the retreat into identity politics that defines the mainstream political discourse in this country.
And so, prophetic of the latter, Chua said – “As a candidate in the election, however, I was more worried that Anwar’s supporters in Umno will not support BN candidates. Fortunately, the Chinese community gave overwhelming support to MCA and Gerakan candidates.
“Umno candidates, on the other hand, suffered as the Anwar factor caused Malay voters to reject the party. It was largely thanks to Chinese support that the BN was able to retain the coveted two-thirds majority in Parliament”.
Now, of course, it is easy to dismiss Chua as just another politician who went down in a sex scandal but what we are really talking about here, is how the DAP is failing not only the Chinese community but the whole non-Malay/Muslim community, replicating the same mistakes MCA made.
We have to understand the political theatre that fights like these, between non-Malay power brokers, is a distraction for the non-Malay base, because what it covers up is that non-Malay participation in the fields of economic, educational, and social spaces is always under threat from the “ketuanan” (supremacy) system.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming is not stupid. Indeed, he is correct (even though he doesn’t seem to have the cojones to confront Umno Youth Chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh) that these boycotts are hurting workers and the national economy.
Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming
You have to wonder why Umno wants to hurt workers and the national economy and if the DAP were sincere in their efforts for a Malaysian Malaysia, they would publicly ask their partner (Umno) why they would want to hurt the economy and more importantly, jobs.
Oh, I am sorry since they have direct access to the prime minister, they should ask the prime minister, why is he allowing his deputy prime minister’s party to wreck the economy.
Instead, this issue of boycotting has become a tool for the government to give more power to the religious bureaucracy and has frightened non-Malay/Muslim businesses.
The idea this government, a government DAP is a part of, is promoting the idea that religious sensitivities trump economic interests, is the shape of things to come.
Mind you, this really isn’t even about religious sensitivities but rather the internal politics of the Malay establishment wreaking havoc on the economy.
And what is the DAP doing about it? Well, nothing much. I get the reticence if this was a petty issue but the political and social reverberations of this issue will directly impact the non-Malay/Muslim community.
What are DAP’s brightest doing?
DAP and its supporters always claim they have the best and brightest, a sentiment shared by Chua – “The best and the brightest Chinese youth shun politics in general, and MCA in particular.
“I hate to admit it, but the fact is that the DAP, despite all its deficiencies, has attracted a lot of talented and dedicated young leaders”.
But, what are the DAP’s best and brightest offering?
Where is Howard Lee’s arrogant bravado when it is needed? After all, he said that he doesn’t entertain “emotive questions” so maybe he should be the one spearheading DAP’s rebuttal against the racial and religious provocations of Akmal.
But then again maybe Lee only knows how to show some cojones against a female Chinese reporter.
What we get is DAP Youth chief Dr Kelvin Yii (who in any other circumstance, I would argue is a very capable young political operative) reminds everyone not to call each other names.
Really? Akmal’s provocations and rabble-rousing have inspired domestic terrorist acts and the best DAP can come up with is reminding everyone that this country needs “mature politics“?
You have to wonder why Umno wants to hurt workers and the national economy and if the DAP were sincere in their efforts for a Malaysian Malaysia, they would publicly ask their partner (Umno) why they would want to hurt the economy and more importantly, jobs.
Oh, I am sorry since they have direct access to the prime minister, they should ask the prime minister, why is he allowing his deputy prime minister’s party to wreck the economy.
Instead, this issue of boycotting has become a tool for the government to give more power to the religious bureaucracy and has frightened non-Malay/Muslim businesses.
The idea this government, a government DAP is a part of, is promoting the idea that religious sensitivities trump economic interests, is the shape of things to come.
Mind you, this really isn’t even about religious sensitivities but rather the internal politics of the Malay establishment wreaking havoc on the economy.
And what is the DAP doing about it? Well, nothing much. I get the reticence if this was a petty issue but the political and social reverberations of this issue will directly impact the non-Malay/Muslim community.
What are DAP’s brightest doing?
DAP and its supporters always claim they have the best and brightest, a sentiment shared by Chua – “The best and the brightest Chinese youth shun politics in general, and MCA in particular.
“I hate to admit it, but the fact is that the DAP, despite all its deficiencies, has attracted a lot of talented and dedicated young leaders”.
But, what are the DAP’s best and brightest offering?
Where is Howard Lee’s arrogant bravado when it is needed? After all, he said that he doesn’t entertain “emotive questions” so maybe he should be the one spearheading DAP’s rebuttal against the racial and religious provocations of Akmal.
But then again maybe Lee only knows how to show some cojones against a female Chinese reporter.
What we get is DAP Youth chief Dr Kelvin Yii (who in any other circumstance, I would argue is a very capable young political operative) reminds everyone not to call each other names.
Really? Akmal’s provocations and rabble-rousing have inspired domestic terrorist acts and the best DAP can come up with is reminding everyone that this country needs “mature politics“?
Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh
What people forget is that the extreme forces in this country have always held mala fide intentions to any non-Malay enterprise that would make it easier for the non-Malays to participate in this country.
I am sorry, but when Canning state assemblyperson Jenny Choy says - “We (DAP) will debate by showing our performance and we will refute with facts.” I have to ask, showing who?
I get that you believe your base will vote for you no matter what (and you may be correct) but what Akmal is doing is making it more difficult for the non-Malay/Muslims to operate within the already limited business ecosystem of this country.
And what facts are you talking about? The fact that your political partner Umno has got a taste of starting economic boycotts (whose effectiveness is debatable) but which has given more power to the state through the religious bureaucracy to disrupt business in this country?
The fact that domestic terrorist acts have not only happened to a DAP political operative but also to a business in this country? The fact that businesses are now being targeted by religious extremists in this country? Does all of this sound familiar?
The MCA and DAP really are a folly of two.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
What people forget is that the extreme forces in this country have always held mala fide intentions to any non-Malay enterprise that would make it easier for the non-Malays to participate in this country.
I am sorry, but when Canning state assemblyperson Jenny Choy says - “We (DAP) will debate by showing our performance and we will refute with facts.” I have to ask, showing who?
I get that you believe your base will vote for you no matter what (and you may be correct) but what Akmal is doing is making it more difficult for the non-Malay/Muslims to operate within the already limited business ecosystem of this country.
And what facts are you talking about? The fact that your political partner Umno has got a taste of starting economic boycotts (whose effectiveness is debatable) but which has given more power to the state through the religious bureaucracy to disrupt business in this country?
The fact that domestic terrorist acts have not only happened to a DAP political operative but also to a business in this country? The fact that businesses are now being targeted by religious extremists in this country? Does all of this sound familiar?
The MCA and DAP really are a folly of two.
S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”
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