In a post yesterday, I blogged that in this critical time when MCA is at the crossroads, the party should heed the five percent Chinese voters who supported BN.
I shall explain here why I’m urging MCA to show solidarity with Umno rather than cleaving to Bersatu.
BELOW: My cat Jojo lost at sea; a wrong decision now will cast the Chinese community adrift
Today a bad day for Umno
Ismail Sabri Yaakob clocked in this morning (pix below) on his first day on the job as deputy prime minister.
MCA and MIC have backed Ismail Sabri’s DPM appointment.
Umno’s Kluster Menteri is staying put in Perikatan and with the Muhyiddin administration.
Since none of the Umno ministers are quitting the cabinet, why would Wee Ka Siong entertain the idea of resigning his Transport portfolio, right?
Meanwhile the MIC president – see news clip below – made perfect sense when he challenged Umno to instruct the party’s own ministers to first withdraw from cabinet before requiring such a sacrifice from BN components MCA and MIC.
Correct exit strategy but botched implementation
Umno is internally divided between the Brexit (leave Bersatu) camp and the Remain (in Perikatan) camp.
One proponent of leaving PN emphatically is Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan.
Mat Hasan can take the moral high ground by virtue of not belonging to Kluster Menteri or Kluster Mahkamah as well as having earlier declined the bait of GLC chairmanship.
In his position, he is able to preach principles — refer his Facebook entry quoted via Sinar Harian: “Sebagai parti politik, kejelasan sebuah pendirian sangat penting”.
“Justeru dalam keadaan negara yang sangat meleset, Umno wajar tampil dengan sebuah pendirian. Membiarkan kemelesetan negara ini menerus, laksana Umno merestuinya,” Mat Hasan added.
BELOW: Screengrabs from Astro Awani report
Umno and Bersatu are two tigers on the same hill.
By continuing to remain in a government headed by Bersatu, Umno is being mauled slowly and steadily by the rival Malay party which has the upper hand through holding the all-powerful premiership.
Between 2018 and 2020, Bersatu poached Umno’s frogging MPs. Since the Sheraton Move, Bersatu has been fishing the loyalty of the Umno MPs beholden to Muhyiddin for their government positions.
When Mat Hassan mentions seeking “kuasa dan kedudukan” above, it’s clear he is taking a dig at certain of his party colleagues.
Mat Hasan also said in his FB: “Tiada individu lebih besar daripada Umno. Tiada tokoh lebih penting dari parti dan rakyat.”
It is rhetoric but nonetheless true words that the party is bigger than its current personalities. Umno is after all an old brand name.
Non Malays acquiring their ironclad Merdeka citizenship
Umno is an old friend of MCA’s dating back to their days in the Alliance which obtained for us Merdeka and later as the core members of BN established by Tun Razak.
Umno helped create the foundation myth of local lads Ali, Ah Chong and Muthu marching in lockstep to London – their arms linked in comradeship – to found modern Malaya in 1957.
For many years in the early life of our country, the Tiga Sekawan propaganda poster of three ethnicities (Malay-Chinese-Indian) coming together as friends coloured our Weltanschauung.
Before 1957, many Chinese residents in the peninsula did not possess citizenship. This conferring citizenship factor is not a matter to be made light of. Look at how Burma rejected its Rohingya ethnic minority and rendered them stateless.
Before I’m accused of mengungkit cerita lama to invoke gratitude to Umno, please consider that 1957 is not all that long ago. Burma drew its red line in the sand for qualifying citizenship at 1823 — i.e. year before the British first annexed Burmese territory (First Anglo-Burmese War 1824 – 1826).
Umno played a crucial role in easing the immigrant non Malays into the fabric of Malayan, and afterwards the post-1969 Malaysian, society.
But because our path to Independence was relatively smooth, non Malays take our right to citizenship too much for granted, forgetting the goodwill shown by Umno.
Are we (Chinese) expected to be forever grateful, some might ask?
I say biar celik sejarah sikit. One has the option of looking at a glass as half empty of half full. MCA has the option of not behaving like DAP.
Helen Ang 
Hello Helen,
I am compelled to make a comment here on whether MCA should remain with UMNO and MIC. I feel it would not BE possible for BN as a political grouping to sustain as long as UMNO wants to work with PKR and DAP.. In a new political alignment, there is no room for DAP and MCA to be in the same boat as they both are fishing in the same pool for Chinese votes. If UMNO partners with DAP, MCA has to find a new partner and the ready one is Bersatu. This is the only way MCA can hope to wrest back most of the seats lost all these years.
Helen I have written an article with deeper analysis of the ‘Failing Perikatan Federal Government’ . You are welcome to read at my updated address:
https://dahalmi.com
Please also update your link to my DAH IKHWAN BLOG at the above address.
Regards,
DAH IKHWAN
Thanks, will do.
Thanks Helen.
if only mca would listen, so dont waste yr time.
and what abt chinese in the rest south east asia besides brunei, are they deemed half full or half empty? fact remain that most chinese at that time do no aspired to be malaysian, thus one may question thier loyalty but grateful is not a sentiment that relevant to majority that choose to stay, they are either your nationals (msian) or your enemy (communist), same apply to whole sea. however to the third or forth generation, china is merely identified in the context of historical and cultural aspect, just look at taiwanese youth if one want a clearer understanding, but of course there are some chinese dream dreamer everywhere not limited to ccp land and malaysia.
i cant say all is bad wrt bn, i believe most leaders before and after 1957 have a heart to make things right, though i still think lky and mahathir have a role that make race relations getting worst to serve their selfish agenda.
i watched friends reunion last night, surprisingly the ladies still look fresh and lively, while the guys seem a bit haggard, time and tide waits for no man, and bn. today bn is no more the yesteryear bn, one can only watch tiga sekawan in namawee tube, moreover ah chong no more, replace by ahkao.
(1) Dunno what MCA thinking. Whatever lah. I will reconsider my vote, depending.
(2) Correct. Chinese 1946 – 1957 didn’t really aspire to be Malayan.
(3) As regards the third to fourth generations — DAP’s ‘Malaysian First’ (nationality) is just propaganda. Reality is (race) Chinese First. Malays = religion first.
(4) Taiwan youth viewing themselves as Taiwanese first is different. They’re a Chinese country. In SEA, Chinese are ethnic minority and in M’sia less Firster compared to Thai Chinese, Indonesian Chinese & Filipino Chinese.
(5) Mahathir is the worst catastrophe imaginable to befall our country but he redeemed himself, a bit, when he ousted DAP from Putrajaya.
(6) The three ladies in ‘FRIENDS’ have indeed aged well as you’ve said. The gentlemen, not so much.
(7) Namewee is big, and bigger abroad than in M’sia, it would seem.
I came across some images of a young Liu Wen Cheng. They didn’t use the word ‘metrosexual’ in his time but he was astonishingly Pretty Boy (in a wholesome way) unlike the K-pop stars of today who look like android clones.
His monster hit 三 月 remains evergreen :)
sbb kalau tak berdiri sebelah UMNO.. satu kerusi dlm Dewan Rakyat pun tak dapat.. hahahahahahhaa.. betul tak kak helen??