In three days’ time, MCA will be celebrating its 69th anniversary as MCA was founded on 27th February 1949.
This time, however, MCA would be celebrating “dubious history” as for the first time in the seven-decade history of MCA, all the three most important leaders of MCA have to depend on UMNO’s Malay votes to get elected as MP and then to become a Minister.
If the three top UMNO leaders have to depend on MCA’s Chinese votes to get into Parliament, can they claim to represent the Malays?
In fact, Malay voters represent the largest ethnic group in six of the seven parliamentary constituencies won by MCA in the 13th General Election in 2013.
I am still waiting for the top MCA leaders to answer the simple question: Is the MCA representing the Chinese in Barisan Nasional or is it representing UMNO to the Malaysian Chinese? Or is MCA representing all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion?
In Bentong, the parliamentary constituency of the MCA President and Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, the single biggest ethnic bloc of voters are 46.1% Malay voters, as Chinese voters represent 42.4%, Indians 9.0% and Others 2.5%.
In Ayer Hitam, the parliamentary constituency of MCA Deputy President and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, the largest ethnic group of voters are the 57.6% Malay voters, with the Chinese 38.3%; Indians 3.9% and Others 0.2%.
In Tanjong Malim, the parliamentary constituency of the MCA Secretary-General and Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Datuk Ong Ka Chuan, the largest ethnic group of voters are again the Malays 55.4% with Chinese 25.8%, Indians 13.2% and Orang Asli 5.6%.
The previous worst General Election outing of MCA before the 2013 General Election was the 1969 General Election, when MCA won 13 parliamentary seats. But in 1969, only three of the 13 Parliamentary seats won by MCA had Malay voters more than Chinese voters, as compared to six of the seven parliamentary seats won by the MCA in the 2013 General Election.
In the 1969 General Election, both the then MCA Deputy President and then MCA Secretary-General contested in constituencies where Chinese voters were the largest ethnic group i.e. Chinese voters more than Malay voters.
One won – the then MCA Deputy President who continued as Cabinet Minister – while the then MCA Secretary-General lost.
May be we can have some explanation from anyone of the top three MCA leaders for this “dubious history” they have created in the 69-year history of MCA during the MCA’s 69th anniversary celebrations!
(Speech (2) at the DAP pre-14GE ceramah in Yong Peng on Saturday 24th February 2018 at 10 pm)