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MCA finds its relevance diminishing by the day |
Posted by kasee &nb=
sp; |
Thursday, 03 April 20=
08 |
Perak MB=
's
announcement on permanent land titles for new villages is latest blow The
Malaysian Insider KUALA L=
UMPUR,
April 3 — It just gets worse for the Malaysian Chinese Association.
When Perak Menteri Besar Mohamed Nizar Jamaludin announced yesterday that=
his
state government was prepared to give permanent land titles to new villag=
es,
party bigwigs looked as though the carpet had been pulled from under them=
. Still f=
inding
it hard to come to terms with the heavy defeat of their candidates in
Election 2008, party president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and others know tha=
t their relevance to=
the
Chinese community dims with every enlightened initiative by the People's
Alliance.
Rejecte=
d by
the community for their silent achievers' approach, the party has been
experimenting with a more vocal approach, seeking the release of the Hind=
raf
5 and taking Umno to task for its arrogance. But her=
e is
the rub: appealing to a particular community or race group post-March 8 s=
eems
to be old politics next to the approach DAP-PKR-PAS, which is to appeal t=
o all
Malaysians, irrespective of race and religion. So when M=
ohamed
Nizar of PAS said that Chinese in new villages will get permanent land
titles, MCA politicians realised how dated their party looks and how holl=
ow
their warning about PAS being an Islamic party is going to sound from now=
on.
They are stumped. Paralysed. The MCA=
is
dealing with political opponents who do not have the same hang-ups over
religion and race that Umno, its partner in the Barisan Nasional, has. Ka
Ting had to plead and seek the intervention of Prime Minister Abdullah Ah=
mad
Badawi before the former Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Khir Toyo agreed to gi=
ve
farmers in Ulu Yam a 30-year lease. It was =
the
same in Perak where the MCA has to persuade MB Tajol Rosli to agree to gi=
ve
farmers in Bidor a 30-year lease. And even then the gesture was celebrate=
d as
a major concession given by the Barisan Nasional to the farmers. Today, =
offering a 30-=
year
lease looks half-hearted in comparison to what Mohamed Nizar annou=
nced
yesterday. No
wonder MCA politicians are wearing worried looks. The party they are seek=
ing
to reform may not have much of a role to play in the new Malaysia.=
Worse y=
et,
trouble has already started to brew in the party, with former Health Mini=
ster
Chua Soi Lek firing a few shots at Ka Ting and suggesting that the party
president was keen on building a dynasty. Soi Lek=
made
some pointed comments against Ka Ting in an interview with Malaysiakini. =
The
Malaysian Insider understands that he received some negative feedback and
some oblique threats of another scandalous tape being released on the mar=
ket. Soi Lek=
had
to resign as a minister and from positions in the party after a tape of h=
im
having sex with a woman in a hotel room was widely circulated. The for=
mer
Health Minister has not declared his intention to challenge Ka Ting for t=
he
party president's position but that only appears a formality. He is likel=
y to
rope in Ling Liong Sik and other MCA veterans in his last stab at party
politics. The fig=
ht
will be messy and could impair the slim hopes of MCA finding a place of
relevance for itself in the fast changing political terrain. |