Loke shouldn't argue with 'defeated' MCA, says Teng
Published: Sep 11, 2024 12:00 PM
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke should not argue with MCA, said former DAP central committee member Teng Chang Khim, who dismissed the “defeated army” as not worth the time to engage with.
In an interview with Malaysiakini, he cited a Chinese proverb that translates as “a defeated general has no basis to speak of courage”.
“It doesn’t matter if they (MCA) said more and said it more forcefully. You (Loke) just need to focus on what needs doing and not worry about MCA, because they have already lost.
“The victor must be magnanimous. Your (MCA’s) insults don’t matter because I've won. As long as what I’m doing is right and supported by the people, I’ll continue.
“This should be the attitude,” said Teng (above).
Anthony Loke (left) and Wee Ka Siong
He explained that the transport minister should be professional in dealing with the ministry’s issues raised by his predecessor and MCA president Wee Ka Siong, in terms of identifying and solving issues with the ministry.
“I think this approach may be more effective. Don’t reduce national issues to verbal spats between political parties but elevate them to discussions on how to solve the country’s problems,” he said.
When it comes to the propaganda war with MCA, Teng said this is best left to the party’s publicity machinery and organ The Rocket.
Teng was speaking during an interview for a Malaysiakini Chinese-language podcast last week, which was aired on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts last night.
Loke’s performance ‘on par’
Asked to comment about Loke’s performance as the DAP’s secretary-general, Teng said it is still too early to judge since he had only been in office for less than three years.
Nevertheless, he gave Loke the thumbs up, saying that his performance thus far is “on par”.
“His predecessor (Lim Guan Eng) served for 18 or 19 years. Comparing the two of them would be unfair to him, as Loke has only been in the position for two (and half) years.
“But if we look at just these two years, I think his performance is already up to par. After all, he has served as the organising secretary for many years, so he has strong grassroots support and is experienced in handling disputes.
“Perhaps what we need to see next are the future directions and policies of the party, including government policies,” he said.
Teng also praised Loke for his steady and pragmatic approach and his lack of a combative “fight over everything” attitude.
“So far, there is nothing to criticise about him as secretary-general […] You may agree or disagree with some of his actions, but that's a normal thing.”
Recently, Loke and Wee crossed swords again over technical issues plaguing Malaysia Airlines’ fleet. Loke accused Wee of creating panic, while Wee urged him to calm down.
He explained that the transport minister should be professional in dealing with the ministry’s issues raised by his predecessor and MCA president Wee Ka Siong, in terms of identifying and solving issues with the ministry.
“I think this approach may be more effective. Don’t reduce national issues to verbal spats between political parties but elevate them to discussions on how to solve the country’s problems,” he said.
When it comes to the propaganda war with MCA, Teng said this is best left to the party’s publicity machinery and organ The Rocket.
Teng was speaking during an interview for a Malaysiakini Chinese-language podcast last week, which was aired on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts last night.
Loke’s performance ‘on par’
Asked to comment about Loke’s performance as the DAP’s secretary-general, Teng said it is still too early to judge since he had only been in office for less than three years.
Nevertheless, he gave Loke the thumbs up, saying that his performance thus far is “on par”.
“His predecessor (Lim Guan Eng) served for 18 or 19 years. Comparing the two of them would be unfair to him, as Loke has only been in the position for two (and half) years.
“But if we look at just these two years, I think his performance is already up to par. After all, he has served as the organising secretary for many years, so he has strong grassroots support and is experienced in handling disputes.
“Perhaps what we need to see next are the future directions and policies of the party, including government policies,” he said.
Teng also praised Loke for his steady and pragmatic approach and his lack of a combative “fight over everything” attitude.
“So far, there is nothing to criticise about him as secretary-general […] You may agree or disagree with some of his actions, but that's a normal thing.”
Recently, Loke and Wee crossed swords again over technical issues plaguing Malaysia Airlines’ fleet. Loke accused Wee of creating panic, while Wee urged him to calm down.
In April, during an appearance on the podcast Keluar Sekejap hosted by former Umno leaders Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan, Loke candidly said that he does not dislike BN but dislikes MCA. This statement triggered a backlash from MCA leaders.
Since the 2022 general election, MCA has joined the government coalition as a BN component party but holds no positions in the cabinet. Over the past two years, it has frequently criticised the government, particularly targeting DAP.
Teng said that MCA should engage in sincere self-reflection to chart a new direction and vision to reinvent itself, rather than continuously launching attacks against DAP that Teng described as “syiok sendiri (self-indulgent)”.
“MCA should earnestly review its mistakes, acknowledge its past errors, and present new policies to the electorate to win back the support of the Chinese community, rather than picking on DAP’s mistakes all the time.
“Saying that, ‘You are repeating the same mistakes you previously criticised us for making’, does that approach work?” asked Teng.
On Bersatu defectors and Sedition Act
On another matter, the former Selangor state assembly speaker concurred with Dewan Rakyat speaker Johari Abdul and Selangor speaker Lau Weng San’s decisions to reject calls to declare the seats of defecting Bersatu elected representatives vacant.
He believes that Johari and Lau’s decisions are in line with legal requirements.
However, he suggested that the speakers should emulate judges by providing written reasons and legal grounds for rejecting the vacancy of these seats to enhance credibility.
On the government's use of the Sedition Act 1948 to investigate and prosecute opposition leaders, Teng said that, for now, the draconian law is still necessary to control specific situations and prevent extreme and inflammatory rhetoric.
He explained that while Pakatan Harapan aims to abolish the Sedition Act, there is a need for “short-term strategic concessions”.
For the time being, he said the government should amend the law to clarify some ambiguous provisions.
“Everyone should be patient. I believe the current government has no intention of suppressing freedom of speech, which is why we’re seeing a lot of speech that shouldn’t even be happening,” he said.
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