Muhyiddin's May 13 'boo' fails to spook MCA

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 18:07

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

KUALA LUMPUR: With the gates of hell having opened, and the Chinese community celebrating the Hungry Ghost Festival, Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin's attempt to raise the May 13 spectre has failed to send a chill down MCA's spine.

On the contrary, the move had incurred the wrath of the Chinese party and earned the Barisan Nasional second-in-command a reprimand.

Stopping short of describing him as someone trapped in antiquity, MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek reminded Muhyiddin that much had changed since 1969.

"MCA is disappointed with the deputy prime minister and Umno deputy president for raising the spectre of the May 13 incident," he said in a statement today.

"The socio-economic condition in Malaysia today is totally different from 1969 as Malaysians are capable of having rational discussions without beating the racial war drum," he added.

Muhyiddin had warned the BN component party not to step out of line when the MCA-organised Chinese Economic Congress called on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak's administration to open up the economy to more non-Malay participation.

The deputy prime minister said the demand could be seen as a challenge to the position of the Malays in the country, and could fuel their anger.

He reminded MCA that it was a similar spark which ignited the May 13, 1969 racial riots that had left scores dead.

'We did not question Malay rights'

Meanwhile, Chua said the only way for the Malaysian economy to survive in a globalised world was to ensure that the economy was competitive and vibrant through "liberalising sectors such as oil and gas as well as telecommunication, rationalising subsidies and opening tenders with price preference to Bumiputeras".

He also denied that MCA had questioned the special position of the Malays.

"At no time, we talked about the special rights of the Malay community. We reaffirm that affirmative actions should be based on needs, merits and be market-friendly.

"We advocate that Bumiputeras should be given price preference in certain economic sectors when the economy is liberalised for open tender,” he said.

“To enable the Bumiputeras to compete on a more equitable basis, we propose for the gradual reduction of the 30% Bumiputera equity and the introduction of price preference," he added.

'Don't question our loyalty'

MCA had been ruffling the feathers of Umno and Malay rights groups like Perkasa since it radicalised its approach in an apparent bid to regain lost Chinese support.

Chua argued that the outcome of the last general election which saw BN perform dismally signalled a need for change and MCA must follow suit to remain relevant.

The president also hinted that MCA would even be willing to take on Umno in order to champion the interest of the community.

He also did not rule out the possibility of sharing the same stand with opposition party DAP on issues which benefitted the Chinese.

However, Chua stressed that MCA's position had not affected its loyalty towards the ruling coalition.

"The loyalty of MCA should not be questioned as it has gone through good and bad times when Umno suffered setbacks. Back then, MCA delivered support to ensure victory in the elections.

"All we ask for is fair share. Rest assured, MCA has no plans or interest to deprive other communities of what is rightfully theirs," he said.