MCA and Gerakan, Time to Change Course!

When I joined Genting in 1977, Tan Koon Swan was already no longer there and had become a wind-cloud personality in the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). But his legacy loomed large; everyone seemed to speak well of him in Genting. He was also often in the news, when the leadership in MCA was at that time in turmoil.

When I was offered to head an MCA-backed company, I jumped in without really knowing much about the party and the company. I became disillusioned within weeks and resigned. It was my shortest stint in any organisation!

I have never bothered to know much about MCA anymore. Ling Liong Sik and Ong Kah Ting were not the reformation or transformation type; but they did do some good to the Chinese community in Tunku Abdul Rahman College and University Tunku Abdul Rahman. Many, otherwise deprived of a place in the public universities and colleges, have graduated and become successful professionals and businessmen. Chua Soi Lek should have been a reasonably good leader to helm MCA and able to lend some weight in the government if not for “that” extra-marital rendezvous of his.

His successors are really a bunch of write-offs. People like Liow Tiong Lai and Wee Ka Siong cannot see beyond the trappings of ministerial offices.

Gerakan is no better also. It is all downhill after Lim Kheng Aik. Koh Soo Koon exemplified how a respectable academic could at the end of the day become an apologist for the powers that be. His successors are also a bunch of jokers, especially the leader of its youth wing, who seems to give the impression he is a moron each time he opens his mouth.

Now with MCA and Gerakan virtually wiped out in the 14^th General Elections of the country, these two parties should kick out their leaders without delay.  Some of the post-election comments or opinions given by the leaders in their youth wings border on infantility. The more the open their mouths, the more their party will lose credibility. They should invite people like Robert Kuok to tell them what to do next! But you don’t really need Robert Kuok to tell them things that are pretty simple to do, right? There are plenty of wise men and women in Malaysia.

MCA and Gerakan should become COMMUNITY WELFARE organisations – MCA opens its door to all Chinese and Gerakan, to all Malaysians! They should advocate good causes and fight for their constituents’ welfare, nothing more, nothing less.