Does the MCA still represent the Chinese?

Failing to defend the community against Ismail Sabri, the MCA loses all relevance.

COMMENT

When Ismail Sabri uttered his call to boycott all Chinese traders, he surely gave little thought to how big a can of worms he was about to open. The outcry was so great that Ismail received death threats, which in certain circles is a sign that you have ‘made it’ in life. While that isn’t the case, we are not here today to discuss the unrepentant Ismail in detail – or even BN’s decision to sweep the entire issue under the rug with an excuse so infantile the entire nation raised their eyebrows simultaneously and choked down a wearily amused laugh.

No, friends, we are here to discuss the MCA. My fellow brothers, what we discussed in coffee shops and among relatives has now become stark, abject reality – the MCA no longer matters to our community, and it has not mattered for a while now.

The Malaysian Chinese Association. The supposed voice of Malaysia’s most sizeable minority, our advocates in the triumvirate of the BN coalition. The ones who are supposed to carry our concerns and outrages to the ear of the Prime Minister, to affect a reaction favourable to our community. Or in this case, to affect a resignation or even an apology from a delinquent individual minister who offended every Chinese trader attempting to make an honest living. And they couldn’t even do that.

Sure, the MCA beat its chest and roared for a few days, bravely joining the growing chorus of angry voices bearing down on a Ismail who dug in his heels and stood his ground against all calls for him to apologise. But then, the master pulled the leash on the unruly puppy and it’s bark was reduced to a little, apologetic whimper that asked everyone to look past the insult.

While most Malaysians do recognise that this is ‘toeing the party line’, the MCA may have finally reached the last straw that will break the camel’s back. How can they claim to represent the Chinese community if they cannot press our concerns in a way that is tangible in the upper echelons of the government? How can they allow Ismail to continue on his merry way without even a whisper of repentance for his falsely directed words?

Sure, the illustrious party is one of great history, having played a role in the independence of our country. But as the years have passed, they have become happy to accept whatever scraps the Prime Minister deigns to throw their way and were punished for their negligence of their community in the 2008 political tsunami, with the largely Chinese but multiracial DAP seizing the imaginations of the Chinese vote with a team of veterans and young, dynamic faces. One would think that the MCA would have retreated to their headquarters for a long heart to heart about where they went wrong in their struggle to represent their community. But apparently, they never did quite figure it out.

MCA, you weren’t elected so that you could kowtow to UMNO. There were still people out there who believed in you, but right now they must be utterly disappointed by their choice at the ballot box. Your job is not to make excuses for ministers who don’t know when to take their foot out of their mouths. You were put there to represent the Chinese – isn’t that what your party stands for?

Sadly, this fiasco confirms what many Chinese have known for a while now. The MCA doesn’t represent us, not anymore. And unless they move quickly to regain the confidence of the community, a revival will become all but impossible to a party on its last legs.