‘LISTEN TO GRASSROOTS, LEAVE BN’
MCA’s call for dissolution of BN does not reflect grassroots’ wishes, says BN sec-gen
MCA should listen to its grassroots request for the party to leave Barisan Nasional instead of calling for the dissolution of the coalition.
Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz told the New Straits Times that he had advised the MCA leadership about this, but it went ahead with the call to dissolve BN.
“Feel the heartbeat of the grassroots. I believe the grassroots want to leave, and their decision and demands on Sunday did not reflect the true sentiments of the grassroots.”
Nazri said meet- ings prior to the MCA’s annual gen- eral meeting had indicated that the party wanted to leave the coalition and distance itself from Umno.
“MCA had blamed Umno for their humiliating defeat in the 14th General Election due to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal, which involved former BN chairman and former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
“They said Umno was the main reason they lost, that it was too domineering, which resulted in Chinese voters alienating them.”
He believed that MCA’s new leadership changed the resolution to leave the coalition and was empowered to do so.
“I believe the leadership hijacked the resolution. I don’t understand it. If their loss was Umno’s fault, then why do they still want to work with us?”
Nazri said for the good of MCA’s future, it was better for them to be on their own.
He said the coalition could not operate on the basis where a component party continuously blamed the other, but was still dependent on them. “Gerakan and Tan Sri M. Kayveas’ side of MyPPP did not like BN, thus, they left. No one called for BN to be dissolved.”
His sentiments were shared by other Umno leaders, including vicepresident Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid, Arau member of parliament Datuk Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim and Kudat member of parliament Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri.
Rahim questioned why MCA called for BN to be dissolved if Umno and other component parties still wanted to be part of the coalition and believed in it.
MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong had announced last week that party members had authorised the MCA Central Committee to pave the way for the dissolution of BN and to forge an effective alliance.
He said the dissolution was to revive and restart BN. He said the coalition must be disbanded with the full understanding and consensus of component parties so that there was room for innovation and reconstruction.