MALACCA, May 1 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said today Datuk Seri Najib Razak did not issue a threat but was only stating a fact when he warned the Chinese community to vote for MCA if they still want representation in Putrajaya.
The MCA president said the prime minister was only reiterating the party’s stance that it would not accept any post in the federal and state governments formed by Barisan Nasional (BN) if it did worse in the coming 13th general election than Election 2008.
“I don’t think it should be regarded as a threat.
“It’s a statement of fact that we are in the government and if we do not get support and have made a decision that if our result are worse than that of the last general election then we will still out of the government both at the state and federal level,” he told reporters here.
The ruling BN coalition’s senior Chinese partner currently only holds four out of a total 30 ministers in the Cabinet.
Najib, who is also Umno and the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s chief, said yesterday its Chinese partner had sent out a clear message to voters that they cannot have it both ways.
“I see the MCA sending the message that the Chinese cannot support the opposition and at the same time expect strong representation in the government. They have to choose,” he was reported as saying by state news agency Bernama.
Dr Chua (picture) said the warning was never meant as threat but on contrary, the party wants to respect the wishes of the country’s ethnic Chinese community.
“This is never intended as a threat. It is intended as a way to respect the Chinese voters because if they don’t support us then we cannot claim legitimacy by representing the Chinese in the government,” he said.
He also denied the Chinese electorate cannot be represented by leaders from other races but hinted that only MCA can lead the community in BN.
“No, it is not that the Chinese cannot be represented by Malays or Indians but because the composition of Barisan Nasional has been such that we are a multi-racial Barisan Nasional but traditionally within this Barisan Nasional umbrella, there are component parties that represent certain ethnic groups not forgetting the common interest of all Malaysians that cuts across races,” he added.
Currently, the senior party in the BN only has 15 MPs and 31 state assemblymen from the last general election in 2008.
It had contested in 40 parliamentary seats and 90 state seats in GE12.
The MCA presidential council has also backed Dr Chua’s promise to give up all government posts if it fails to win votes from the Chinese community it is supposed to represent.
Dr Chua was also reported to have said the MCA would stay in BN even if its performance remained dismal.
The former health minister has come under repeated attacks from the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) bloc and his predecessor in the MCA, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, in the last two weeks since the Sarawak state election.
Dr Chua has been challenged to stake the MCA’s government positions after controversially telling its Chinese coalition partner in Sarawak, SUPP, to drop all positions in the state Cabinet after a poor showing in the state polls.
However, the MCA and Umno-owned newspaper Utusan Malaysia have clashed over the latter’s call for a “1 Melayu, 1 Bumi” campaign to unite the Malays against the growing threat of Chinese political power.
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