Quit Bn But Don T Join Pn Says Mca Division Leader

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 Sungai Petani MCA chief Cheng Joo Choi says the party must rebuild itself as an independent opposition party while focussing on Chinese voters.
MCA’s grassroots have called for the party to withdraw from BN amid discontent over its role in the federal administration.PETALING JAYA: An MCA division leader has backed calls for the party to quit Barisan Nasional, but objects to it joining the opposition Perikatan Nasional
Sungai Petani MCA chief Cheng Joo Choi said joining PN would only lead to MCA being perceived as hopping between coalitions, which would further hamper support from Chinese voters, Sin Chew Daily reported.
Cheng said MCA must abandon old mindsets and models, and rebuild itself as an independent party in the opposition.
“MCA can no longer just blindly follow orders. We cannot keep working hard without any control over the political game.
“Last year, our division officially passed a resolution to withdraw from BN, but it was not adopted at the state convention. Today, we raise it again because the situation demands a decisive move more than ever before,” he was quoted as saying.
He said MCA has been constrained ever since BN joined the unity government, with the party given a vague role while Umno and Pakatan Harapan integrated their resources and fastened their grip on power.
Cheng said MCA cannot keep relying on political “handouts”, and that, without the trust of Chinese voters, the party would not be able to support any form of political partnership.
“If MCA can’t even secure its own voter base, how can it talk about partnerships? Alliances are, at their core, mutual exchanges of interests.
“We need Malay votes, they need Chinese votes, but if we’ve lost the trust of the Chinese community, what’s the point of the exchange?”
This meant that MCA must go back to being focussed on the needs of the Chinese community, he said.
Cheng pointed out that former MCA president Liow Tiong Lai and current deputy president Mah Hang Soon had poured a lot of resources into their election campaigns in 2022, but still failed to win their contests.
“This proves that without support from the Chinese community, everything is in vain,” he said.
There have been growing calls from MCA’s grassroots for the party to withdraw from BN amid discontent over its role in the federal administration.
MCA’s leadership has said its next course of action would be based on what the grassroots decide on in their annual general meetings (AGM) at the division level.
Last week, MCA president Wee Ka Siong said the party would wait for the AGM for its decision on its future in the unity government. - FMT

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