The MCA leaders seen here with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (third left) at the MCA general assembly last October. The MCA leadership has been criticised for being powerless against Umno's dominance in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 19, 2015.Their parents are MCA members, having joined the Chinese party many decades ago, believing in its values and service to the Malaysian Chinese community.
But the children, YY Ng and Woon King Chai, as well as their siblings are not members, neither are they attracted to the senior party in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, nor do they identify with its work.
Believing in a two-party system, non-racial political entities, free and fair elections, as well as wanting better education and security, they have never asked MCA for help in their entire lives, nor do they plan to do so.
"At the moment, I don't feel MCA fits into my aspirations. It is time for us to look beyond race and start conversations on what it means to be a Malaysian and have a Malaysian identity," said 26-year-old Woon, while businessman Ng, 37, supports the need to have a strong opposition to serve as a check and balance on the government.
Woon and Ng's views are a snapshot of the dilemma faced by MCA and partner Gerakan, both parties in the BN now struggling to woo a more discerning and demanding electorate, including the 6.9 million-member Chinese community.
The downfall of these two parties began at the 2008 general election, which saw BN losing its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority, exposing the weaknesses of MCA and Gerakan, which though multiracial is still largely Chinese-based.
These weaknesses included infighting within MCA, lacklustre leadership in Gerakan, and both parties' inability to check an increasingly strident Umno, its Malay ruling partner in the BN coalition.
Gerakan president Datuk Mah Siew Keong, speaking at the Gerakan general assembly last October. He won the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat in a by-election last year. – The Malaysian Insider pic, February 19, 2015.Election 2008 saw MCA only winning 15 federal and 32 state seats and it was further debilitated in the 13th general election five years later, ending up with only seven parliamentary and 11 state seats.
Gerakan meanwhile, was wiped out in its home state of Penang in the 2008 national polls after four decades of heading the northern state since 1969.
It only managed to cling on to two federal seats – Simpang Renggam and Bukit Gantang – and two state seats. Another two state seats were added to the party a year later when it welcomed two Sabah leaders into the fold.
In the 2013 national polls, it retained three state seats and Simpang Renggam, although it added the Teluk Intan federal seat to its haul in a by-election last year when its president Datuk Mah Siew Keong wrested it back from rival DAP with a razor-thin majority of 238 votes.
With some 70% of the estimated 4.2 million unregistered voters aged between 21 and 40, and with about 450,000 Malaysians turning 21 each year, both parties have their work cut out to regain the trust of an increasingly sophisticated electorate who expect more.
Voters are no longer satisfied with services like obtaining scholarships or business loans, ensuring timely garbage collection and looking for runaway children.
The electorate is now more issue-oriented and want to know the parties' stand on national matters like corruption, fairness, equality, rule of law and what they are doing to keep Umno in check and from sliding too far to the right.
Attempts at revival
Both MCA and Gerakan are attempting to rejuvenate themselves, and have a younger crop of leaders at the helm.
"Both parties have changed their respective leadership into a younger generation of leaders," said analyst Dr Oh Ei Sun, referring to MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, 54, and his Gerakan counterpart Datuk Mah Siew Keong, who is two years younger.
"However, quite a few among them are still perceived by many as having self-interests and ultimately kowtowing to Umno, which does not help in boosting their popularity among Chinese and urban voters," said the senior fellow with Singapore's Nanyang Technological University S.Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
The core of MCA's transformation plan hinged on the party fighting for causes for all Malaysians, instead of a solely Chinese-centric approach.
Gerakan, meanwhile, has adopted the slogan "Forward Together With One Heart" to sell itself as a clean and moderate party that is against any form of extremism.
MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon said the change is bearing fruit as MCA is slowly getting back some Chinese support, partly by renewing links with Chinese-based organisations.
He was quick, however, that support is not at the pre-2008 levels.
This was evident in the slight increase in Chinese support for BN in the last two by-elections in Kajang and Teluk Intan last year, he pointed out.
But, the jury is still out as to the support of young voters.
"We have no clear indication as of now that younger voters are coming back, which is we why we need to work even harder to go to the ground to woo them," he said.
For Gerakan, it has already identified candidates for the 14th general election (GE14) – three years ahead of time – with the list expected to be finalised by next month.
"We want to be well-prepared. The candidates will go through a series of training and they will serve the people so that the voters will get to know them. This also allows us to minimise internal politicking and settle the problem early," said its secretary-general Liang Teck Meng.
Umno baggage
Observers, however, felt that the changes by both parties were at most, skin deep. Little headway has been made to make themselves relevant or acceptable to the electorate. At most, the changes have only been confined to leadership.
The parties remain dependent on Umno and this has caused them to be seen by many Chinese voters as lapdogs to the lead Malay party, said political scientist Dr Wong Chin Huat.
"MCA's and Gerakan's problem is mainly external rather than internal, their inability to force or persuade Umno to be inclusive.
"As long as Umno continues to pursue Malay supremacy, MCA and Gerakan will be rejected by the non-Malay voters and progressive Malay voters. They can only win a few seats by counting on Umno voters. With such a dim future, what's there to attract young talents?" said the academician with Penang Institute.
The recent furore involving Umno minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob's remark urging Malays to boycott Chinese businesses to force down the price of goods best encapsulates MCA and Gerakan's impotency.
Both parties issued statements and lodged police reports against the minister for his boycott call, which they said was racist. They also demanded his apology but Ismail only expressed "regret" after two weeks and even asked MCA's Liow and the public to "move on".
"The continued stream of racial and religious issues hitting the headlines has put the two parties on the defensive. Even when they appear to speak out on a hot issue such as Ismail Sabri's racist targeting of Chinese traders, they are seen as ineffective and are ignored or even ridiculed by Umno leaders and the Cabinet," said Centre for Policy Initiative (CPI) director Dr Lim Teck Ghee.
"Here again, the two parties appear spineless and politically impotent on crucial national controversies that relate to Chinese concerns," Lim added.
Despite the slap in the face, MCA's Chong said the incident has allowed the public to know the party's stand on the issue.
"Yes, we can talk and negotiate within BN but at the same time, we still have to publicly express our stand on some issues," he said in defence of MCA.
Can they survive GE14?
The consensus is, it looks bleak for these two parties, with analysts agreeing that they may lose further ground.
A factor to consider is that almost all seats held by incumbents depend much on Malay support.
"They may lose further ground as many incumbents depend on Malay votes to retain their seats.
"Should the Malay voters decide not to vote for them or to abstain, they will lose their foothold in Parliament," said Lim.
Because of their current weak state, they are treated as decorative items by Umno, Lim added, noting that it was also politically convenient and economically profitable for Umno to use its two allies as "fig leaves" to give the appearance of a multi-racially cohesive BN.
Lim said that MCA and Gerakan's leadership and supporters were fully aware that they have to toe Umno's line.
Oh sums it up: "The perception by many Chinese and urban [voters], rightly or wrongly, of them as essentially eunuch parties of self-interested members, appears to be still quite deep-rooted and unlikely to change barring major turns in events."
The same situation seems to be unfolding in MIC, another BN coalition member.
BN had offered a solution to end the "war" between the two factions in MIC, but the party president and his deputy rejected the deal and resumed the political fight.
Both the MIC president and his deputy, who have had disagreements over party problems, have rejected the proposal by Barisan to form a secretariat to take over the administration of the party.
"As president of MIC, I am not willing to let third parties (Barisan) to run our beloved party. Though MIC is a component party within Barisan, it is still a political party in its own right and is governed by the party's constitution.
"Barisan should respect the MIC constitution and not take over the administration of MIC as proposed," said party president Datuk Seri G.Palanivel.
- TMI
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