By Debra Chong
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 — MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat (picture) today chose to stay non-commital in the face of increasing calls from grassroot Malay leaders pushing Barisan Nasional (BN) to abolish the quota allocated for component parties to contest in the next general election.
Grassroot leaders such as Datuk Wira Syed Ali Alhabshee have been vocal in pushing for Umno to take a more dominant role in the ruling coalition; and to stop ‘sacrificing’ electoral seats for the sake of preserving good relations with its sister parties.
But Ong, who heads the second biggest party in BN - after Umno — appeared dismissive of Syed Ali’s suggestion to revamp the current system.
“He is entitled to his view just like I am entitled to mine,” Ong said when asked to comment on the Federal Territory BN secretary’s suggestion.
“I may not need to agree or I may not need to comment on each and every view,” Ong retorted when pushed to state his view.
Wrought by infighting, the Chinese party’s relevance in the race-based coalition grows increasingly tenuous as the days pass.
A national Malay daily noted that the current practice was no longer ‘relevant’ in the aftermath of the landmark 12th General Elections in 2008 which saw Chinese winning in Malay majority constituencies and vice versa.
“Don’t give according to quota. Can’t use quota now,” Berita Harian cited Syed Ali as saying today.
“It’s meaningless for us to sacrifice for a candidate from another race just for the quota because it’s more important to have a leader liked by the people,” Syed Ali added.
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