Internal squabbles hurt MCA

KUALA LUMPUR: Friction among factions within MCA was one of the reasons the party failed to garner the support of Chinese voters in the previous general election.

MCA Youth chief Datuk Chong Sin Woon said the resolutions adopted at the party’s recent annual general meeting would ensure strength and unity among its members.

“This is important because one of the reasons for our loss in the previous election was due to internal divisions in the party.

“As we come together to unite, we now have a clearer vision ... which is to win the rakyat’s support again in the next general election,” he told reporters when met at Parliament yesterday.

MCA, once one of the largest parties in Barisan Nasional, has performed poorly since the 2008 general election, losing most of its seats to DAP.

Chong said MCA, under the leadership of Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, has gone through major reforms in making it more relevant to Chinese voters.

Liow said MCA’s decision to have a more open party election system was an important transformation to add more democratic value and appeal to the rakyat.

We know MCA faced a huge defeat in the last general election and we have to make sure party members are prepared to face a more intense challenge,” he said. – by Haikal Jalil