Zaid Ibrahim - Why MCA must rejoin the Government

 

Zaid Ibrahim

 

Why MCA must rejoin the Government

by Zaid Ibrahim

The call made by the Chinese business community and NGOs for MCA to rejoin the Cabinet is not surprising. If MCA is to have any future it must rejoin the Government, but party members must also do more than what they have become accustomed to doing. In the past, they delivered allocations to Chinese schools and representated the Chinese community in business and educational issues. A few of their top leaders held Cabinet posts and this  enabled them to dish out some contracts to the  Chinese towkays. The lower-rung MCA operatives held positions in local councils, which gave them some leverage with grassroots members.

MCA needs to and can do more. Its Deputy President’s statement that rejoining the Cabinet would allow the party to be more vocal on issues that are relevant to the Chinese community is frankly hard to understand. You can be vocal without holding Cabinet posts, and you certainly don’t become a part of the Cabinet just to be vocal. You join the Cabinet to implement policies that you believe are essential for your community and the country. If MCA were to rejoin the Cabinet, it must do so for the right reasons. Being vocal without having the ability or willingness to implement key policy issues will reduce MCA to being like just another NGO: vocal, but essentially helpless.

I think it’s important that MCA rejoins the Government, especially if the party can get the Prime Minister’s undertaking to listen and act on key issues. On top of the list is for MCA to  do its part to stop racism from spreading its wings in national politics. There is no way we can overcome economic and financial challenges in the future if the country is divided along racial, religious and ethnic lines, so a well-crafted Race Relations Act is urgently required. The law must be there to punish or at least discourage racism and all its ugly ramifications  from spreading. Discriminatory practices must be outlawed. The rights of citizens must be respected, regardless of whether their forefathers came from China, India or Sulewasi. Immediate action must be taken against racist conduct and remarks. Companies and the Civil Service must be open to all races without discrimination, for this is the only way we can progress as a nation.

Wanting to have a Race Relations Act is not asking for the sky. In fact, it was discussed at the Cabinet level but several senior Ministers developed cold feet, making it impossible to carry  through. That was five years ago and race relations have clearly deteriorated since then. A Race Relations Act will signal to the people that this Government is concerned about racial discord, that it has the political will to act against racism and racist policies, and that it has every intention to deal with the subject fairly to maintain peace and harmony.

Laws are useless if not they are not enforced fairly or made applicable to those who violate them. In Malaysia, Malay or Muslim demogogues—especially from UMNO  and Perkasa—have escaped prosecution despite making blatantly racist remarks. The Government, however, has been quick to act against those on the fringe or from other races. MCA should make it a point to get the Prime Minister to promise that the Public Prosecutor will be given a free hand to charge anyone—anyone—who violates the Race Relations Act.

If MCA can get this done, then it would be worthwhile for the party to rejoin the Cabinet. There are other key issues that MCA leaders can champion and stick their necks out over, but they must get the Prime Minister to agree on these specific issues before taking on their Cabinet posts. The Chinese community and other Malaysians will appreciate it if the MCA is able to be a force behind constructive policy changes, and this appreciation will translate into voter support in the next General Election. On the other hand, if MCA is content just to be “vocal”, they will end up parroting the same, tired lines about Perkasa and hudud law. While this will make them look busy, the Chinese community and everybody else will not be fooled and will vote against the party as they did in GE13.

Still, on balance, I would like to see MCA rejoin the Government and I hope the Prime Minister will be bighearted as he was when he offered a Deputy Minister’s post  to Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy. He needs to accept MCA and the key issues they bring. This country needs close cooperation from all sides; including a massive dose of “give and take” from the warring factions  or it will be split beyond repair.

- Source

=====================================

I'm going to contrast this excerpt from an article, expressing the thoughts of another group of Malays:

Perkasa gesa Putrajaya lantik Menteri Pengangkutan dari Umno Selangor

 Syed Hassan Syed Ali of PERKASA

Putrajaya digesa melantik segera Menteri Pengangkutan daripada kalangan pemimpin Umno Selangor sebagai "menghormati keputusan MCA untuk tidak menerima jawatan dalam kerajaan."

Pertubuhan Pribumi Perkasa Kebangsaan (Perkasa) menegaskan parti Cina dalam Barisan Nasional (BN) itu tidak lagi mempunyai ahli ekoran majoriti pengundi berbangsa Cina telah menolak mereka ketika Pilihan Raya 2013 pada 5 Mei lalu.....

............"Berapa sangat yang usahawan Melayu dapat dengan projek MRT? Sistem IT yang digunakan oleh sekolah-sekolaj bernilai lebih RM5blion kepada YTL, apa hasilnya kepada BN?" soal Perkasa dalam kenyataan tersebut, merujuk kepada beberapa projek mega yang sedang dirangka kerajaan...........

..............."Jadi sedarlah pemimpin tertinggi umno. Cukuplah beri kepada mereka setiap kali mereka minta. Segerakan lantik pemimpin Umno untuk jawatan kekal Menteri Pengangkutan...........

-source

======================================================

I'm starting to wonder, why is it that everyone is so concerned about MCA joining the government. Seems like there's a sudden urgency. I really wonder why...

There are people who would use any excuses they could think of to justify MCA's inclusion in the government, without giving a passing thought about the Chinese community and the position they are in. MCA can't even solve their own problems, and you are asking them to walk in like a boss and tell the Prime Minister to agree to this Act?

If MCA follows Zaid's advice, supporting an Act, which was abandoned earlier due to a lack of support, it would only put itself in the line of fire from opposing parties within BN & UMNO. As it is, certain groups in UMNO are already eyeing positions and contracts.

Why must the Chinese always be used for the benefit of others? Why make the Chinese stick their necks out again, only to suffer fools again? Sometimes I wonder about the true role the MCA, and by extension the Chinese, plays in Malaysian politics.

MCA must be allowed to decisively solve their internal conflict. If it is allowed to simmer, it will not be able to function effectively. In fact, this applies to all the component parties in BN. If these politicians were doing their jobs instead of exploiting the people with racial & religious issues, we won't even need the Race Relations Act.