MCA and MIC adamant Nazri not eligible to attend BN meet

PETALING JAYA: MCA and MIC are opposed to Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz attending the much-anticipated Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting to discuss the future of the coalition as they question Nazri’s legitimacy as the secretary-general.

“Both parties (MCA and MIC) have clearly stated their stand to the Barisan secretariat that Nazri is not eligible to attend the Barisan supreme council meeting this Friday.

“If Nazri is stubborn and attends the council meeting, it will call to question the legitimacy of the meeting,” MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said in a joint media statement yesterday.

He noted that MCA and MIC would only attend a valid council meeting to avoid any potential legal conflict.

Nazri’s appointment as Barisan secretary-general has come under criticism by both parties who said it was never formally discussed by the coalition’s supreme council, as required under the Barisan constitution.

Nazri’s appointment was announced by Barisan chairman and Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at the MIC annual general assembly last October.

In the joint statement yesterday, Dr Wee pointed out that Nazri had no locus standi to issue statements in his capacity as the Barisan secretary-general but continued to use the post to berate MCA and MIC.

MIC president Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran said MIC had no problem attending the meeting as long as Nazri was not present.

“We will definitely attend the meeting and are willing to talk to see the way forward ... it’s not an issue for us.

“But we cannot attend an illegal meeting with Nazri sitting in as the secretary-general as we do not recognise his appointment,” he said.

“Umno is not our enemy,” he added.

He said Barisan deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan, the Umno deputy president who is carrying out the duties of the party president, must remove Nazri from the post to enable discussions to move forward.

Meanwhile, Nazri has pleaded to MCA and MIC to attend the Barisan meeting on Friday – a contrast to a harder stand he took on the matter mere hours earlier.

“I will be there. I have no problem facing the meeting. Janganlah begitu, datanglah (Don’t act that way, come to the meeting),” he told reporters after attending the UmnoPAS meeting to seal their formal cooperation at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

An unfazed Nazri added that he would quit as Barisan secretary-general if his appointment was not legitimate but “it must follow the law”.

He also denied having provoked the tiff between him and the two component parties.

“Who provoked me? I did not provoke anyone. My statement is not calling out for Chinese vernacular schools to be shut down.

“You know me. I’m a Malaysian and not a racist. They use this issue even though I have issued a denial.”

Only hours earlier, Nazri said it was not up to Dr Wee or Vigneswaran to decide if he should attend the meeting.

“I am not in a position to say as I have to speak to my chairman. They are not my chairmen, so let me talk to my chairman first,” he said.

On Monday, MCA and MIC declared their intention to forge a new alliance, with both parties blaming racial remarks by Nazri at the recent Semenyih by-election for further straining ties in the troubled Barisan.

Mohamad said Barisan took heed of the notion put forward by MCA and MIC and that it would be wise for the coalition to unite and search for a favourable solution.