Press Digest by Kong See Hoh
KUALA LUMPUR (April 27, 2010): MCA PRESIDENT Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek says the result of Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election brought home a clear message -- that Chinese voters value "fairness and democracy" more than anything else.
He said Parti Keadilan Rakyat candidate Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is a prominent figure and is regarded as a liberal leader with an open mind. This explains why he had the support of the Chinese voters.
Chua said the Chinese voters want to see the emergence of more liberal and open-minded Malay politicians.
It has been reported that based on the polling station returns, more than 70% of the Chinese voters supported Zaid in the by-election,won by Barisan Nasional’s P. Kamalanathan with a majority of 1,725 votes.
Chua told Sin Chew Daily the Opposition also succeeded in turning some Chinese against BN with certain issues, including the racial remarks by Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Minister Datuk Seri Noh Omar.
These are some of the reasons BN lost the Chinese votes to the Opposition.
He said improving the basic infrastructure and services alone is not enough to satisfy the need of the Chinese voters.
The people are now more concerned with national issues, including whether the government has been fair and just in handling major issues such as the Teoh Beng Hock incident, and whether it is democratic in its governance.
Chua felt that the drain in the Chinese votes from the BN has sounded the alarm bell for MCA, and the party must thoroughly review and improve its election campaign.
"I don’t think the loss in Chinese votes will put pressure on MCA within the Barisan Nasional, but it clearly tells all party leaders to be aware of the following four points and to re-examine themselves," he said.
» They cannot continue with their old ways of campaigning;
» The support of MCA members for Barisan Nasional cannot be taken for granted;
» If MCA cannot gain the support of its own members, it is even harder for it to win the backing of outsiders; and
» Basic services alone cannot meet the need of the Chinese community.
Chua admitted that differences between the old and new leadership in the Hulu Selangor division is another reason that cost the BN some Chinese votes as a number of branches had boycotted the campaign.
He said in Kuala Kubu Baru, some members had even exhorted others not to campaign for or support the BN candidate.
"Maybe, they (the members) believe that if they help to win over the Chinese voters in the Chinese-majority areas to give BN a thumping victory, they would only make it easy for the (party) division chief or state representative to be returned in future (which they don’t want to happen). This can be seen from the voting trend in Kuala Kubu Baru Chinese new village," he said.
He warned the grassroots leaders and members not to let their differences get the better of them as MCA will become the eventual loser if they do. The Hulu Selangor by-election is a good example, he said.
The Sun Daily
