Component parties in BN apart from UMNO now officially irrelevant.
NST 13 April 2013: KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek today confirmed that he will not contest in the May 5 general election, but will lead his party's election campaign.
This is the first time in MCA's history that a full time party president is not contesting in the general election.
Dr Chua, in a statement issued here today, said the decision not to contest was in line with the renewal process of the party to reinvent and reinvigorate itself to ensure it remained relevant in the new century.
It was also a move to groom new leaders, he said and added that: "For all these fight and articulation that I have been talking, it would be very self-serving if I were to declare myself as a candidate.
"I want to prove a point that I am fighting for a cause, that MCA remains relevant and continues to lead the party without standing for elected public office," he said.
The former Labis Member of Parliament said his wish is "to continue that role in the general election where I can campaign full-time for Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates, particularly for MCA".
Dr Chua said after devoting full time in turning MCA around, it was now more focused, united and the members were fuelled with better optimism and fighting spirit to face the general election.
Touching on the upcoming election, he said MCA would also be fielding nearly 50 percent new faces, and was confident that the formidable team could put up a good challenge in the general election.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after chairing a special Central Committee meeting at Wisma MCA here, Dr Chua reiterated that his decision would allow the rejuvenation process of the party to take place.
He said unlike certain leaders in the opposition parties who had been preaching about "change" but they themselves had been holding on to power for many decades.
"For example (Kelantan Mentri Besar) Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz (Nik Mat) is already 82 years old, and (DAP veteran) Lim Kit Siang, 72, have always said to give a chance to young people.
"But for five decades the leadership of the country had changed. We have had five prime ministers, and I am the sixth MCA president," he said.
On him not contesting, Dr Chua said he had informed his intention to BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as early as last year. -- BERNAMA
This is the first time in MCA's history that a full time party president is not contesting in the general election.
Dr Chua, in a statement issued here today, said the decision not to contest was in line with the renewal process of the party to reinvent and reinvigorate itself to ensure it remained relevant in the new century.
It was also a move to groom new leaders, he said and added that: "For all these fight and articulation that I have been talking, it would be very self-serving if I were to declare myself as a candidate.
"I want to prove a point that I am fighting for a cause, that MCA remains relevant and continues to lead the party without standing for elected public office," he said.
The former Labis Member of Parliament said his wish is "to continue that role in the general election where I can campaign full-time for Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates, particularly for MCA".
Dr Chua said after devoting full time in turning MCA around, it was now more focused, united and the members were fuelled with better optimism and fighting spirit to face the general election.
Touching on the upcoming election, he said MCA would also be fielding nearly 50 percent new faces, and was confident that the formidable team could put up a good challenge in the general election.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters after chairing a special Central Committee meeting at Wisma MCA here, Dr Chua reiterated that his decision would allow the rejuvenation process of the party to take place.
He said unlike certain leaders in the opposition parties who had been preaching about "change" but they themselves had been holding on to power for many decades.
"For example (Kelantan Mentri Besar) Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz (Nik Mat) is already 82 years old, and (DAP veteran) Lim Kit Siang, 72, have always said to give a chance to young people.
"But for five decades the leadership of the country had changed. We have had five prime ministers, and I am the sixth MCA president," he said.
On him not contesting, Dr Chua said he had informed his intention to BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as early as last year. -- BERNAMA
Win or lose, MCA seat at BN table may never be the same again
APRIL 13, 2013
MCa’s inability to beat back DAP’s assault on its stronghold puts BN’s power-sharing formula in question. — File pic
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) push into Johor has sent the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition scrambling to defend its proclaimed bastion, but also threatens to put MCA’s already weakened place in Malaysian politics to the test.
Built on a recipe for communal power-sharing dating back to Independence, the inability of the Chinese party to secure electoral backing while under siege from rival DAP at its Johor doorstep may permanently unravel BN’s so-called formula, according to political analyst Ooi Kee Beng.
“The coming elections will pose a fundamental challenge to the BN model of coalition politics with Malay-based Umno and Chinese-based MCA as key partners,” Ooi wrote in Singapore’s The Straits Times.
Ooi noted that while many MCA ministers and leaders hail from the state, its president’s refusal to pick up the Gelang Patah gauntlet thrown down by the DAP — declaring instead a possibility of “lending” the seat to Umno — laid bare the former’s lack of confidence in its own safe house.
“For one thing, MCA’s position as the party representing the Chinese vote bank is under full frontal attack from the DAP.”
But the bigger fear of an MCA drubbing and the resultant lack of Chinese representation in BN, Ooi wrote, would be the forced departure from the coalition’s age-old formula of communal power-sharing.
“If the MCA loses most of its parliamentary seats in the coming elections ... then BN will be without proper Chinese representation.
“Malaysia has to be ruled by a coalition representing all major ethnic groups, and the coalition that fails to project that image cannot be stable. For Umno and its allies, a new formula will have to be found even if they get the majority of seats,” Ooi wrote.
Already, the showdown has taken on an ominous overtone, with former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad warning that a win for Lim Kit Siang ― DAP’s declared runner in Gelang Patah ― would result in racial confrontations.
“Kit Siang is going to bring about conflict and antagonism between the races, to wage the Chinese to dislike and hate the Malays,” Dr Mahathir wrote in his chedet.cc blog.
“An unhealthy racial confrontation would replace Sino-Malay cooperation which has made Malaysia stable and prosperous,” Dr Mahathir added.
“That co-operation will end when Kit Siang wins Gelang Patah.”
The Malaysian Insider previously reported Umno plans on fielding its candidates either in all or most of the DAP seats as its strategists believe the Malay vote is more dependable than Chinese support .
It is undersood the BN war room believes Umno candidates can beat back the DAP attack in Johor and other Malay-majority states rather than MCA hopefuls.
“Umno candidates have a better chance of keeping BN seats than the MCA, so we’re looking into pushing more Malay candidates,” a ruling coalition source told The Malaysian Insider.
MCA has since confirmed it will be “lending” the Kuantan seat to Umno.
Some 13.3 million Malaysians are eligible to vote, with about three million being first-time voters, in what is touted to be the closest general election in Malaysian history.
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