Chua just an attacker dog for Umno in Guan Eng spat: Pakatan

Chua just an attacker dog for Umno in Guan Eng spat: Pakatan

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Back to the wall as Chinese voters flee his sinking ship, scandal-plagued Chua Soi Lek was forced into the offensive, spewing vitriol at his much younger, and many say more dynamic competitor Lim Guang Eng, the DAP chief minister of Penang.

As expected, Chua – who has been keeping a low profile due to public disgust over his sex-DVD scandals – finally emerged to support Prime Minister Najib Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

Both Umno leaders had drawn flak for failing to rise above racial lines when they condemned Guan Eng for taking to task federal state development officer, Nik Ali Mat Yunus, for not doing his job well.

“As we have said before, this should never become a race issue but the overtones are there because this is the BN habit. This is how the BN components work – Umno, MCA, MIC. They racialize everything, whereas Pakatan and PAS have stated they will view this issue solely from a professional standpoint,” PAS national unity chairman Mujahid Yusof Rawa told Malaysia Chronicle.

Failing to rise to the occasion


But Chua, the newly-elected MCA president, could not stand up to the pressure heaped on him by his bosses. With eyes wide open, he chose to go against his own community despite its clearly-expressed support for Guan Eng over the issue. Perhaps clutching at straws, Chua accused the DAP secretary-general of behaving like he was still in the opposition. This is what I have been saying all along .

The MCA chief tried hard to find the jugular. “Look at how Lim Guan Eng handled the issue with the SDO. From there, you can generally conclude that he (Lim) himself is not aware of his own role as an administrator,” said Chua.

Yet, his words stirred only a bitter after-taste, even from his own party members, many of whom are still in shock at how quickly he moved to put his son Tee Yong into the Cabinet although there were more senior choices.

“What right has Chua Soi Lek to talk? He has no spine to stand up to the BN's racialist policies. He is only a hound dog for the Umno elite,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“Civil servants must always be professional and above partisan politics. They must respect the state hierarchy. But Chua prefers to bend the truth. He says Guan Eng is behaving like the opposition when it is actually the BN that is treating Pakatan Rakyat states as opposition states. They are unprofessionally withholding co-operation. But this is Chua for you. It is good for MCA members to see for themselves what sort of leader they have elected."

Leaders for change and reform needed

Indeed, the ferocity of the counter-attacks against Chua and his party - not just by Mujahid or Tian but the man-on-the-street - is the result of years of pent-up frustration.

The anger and disenchantment is felt not just by ordinary Malaysian Chinese, but also the other races including the Malays. All of them are upset at the way they have been deliberately dis-empowered and suppressed from participating in the nation’s political direction.

Pundits have long criticized the BN power-sharing system as a farce. They say while Umno may be guilty of being too domineering, components MCA, MIC and Gerakan have only themselves to blame for not rejecting the elitist policies that the BN as a whole promulgates.

Within the MCA itself, only Chua’s predecessor Ong Tee Keat had dared to stand up against massive government corruption as manifested in the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal. Unsurprisingly, Ong has been dropped as Transport Minister, and less than a week after taking office, the new minister, Kong Cho Ha, announced there would be no further probe into the debacle. While the move disappointed MCA watchers, they also said they expected it because Kong is a well-entrenched Chua loyalist.

“This Nik Ali spat is not a Chinese issue as Najib, Muhyiddin and Chua have tried to make it. In fact, it is now very clear to all Malaysians only Pakatan leaders have the courage to lead the agenda for change and reform without resorting to racial lines,” Pantai Jerejak assemblyman Sim Tze Tsin told Malaysia Chronicle. This is a lie and a great bullshit ..talking cock , ask the ex MPs who are now independents .

“We know what is our direction and we cannot be diverted by civil servants – whatever their race or creed. Why should we hide behind the color of our skin when we are all Malaysians. Pakatan has promised voters a better Malaysia and that includes professionalism and transparency – which are basic values in many other governments but sad to say are rarities in the BN here.”