The Malaysian Insider

OCT 24 — The crisis within MCA is different from earlier ones because, no matter how it is solved, not having an inspiring message for the young is a greater and more damning one.

This goes for Umno as well. The fates of the two are inextricably intertwined.

Fifty-seven years ago, the fortunes of Umno and MCA took a quantum leap. In the municipal elections in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 16, 1952, leaders of the two parties at the municipal level decided to cooperate against the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP). In the process, they managed to beat their opponents soundly and the Alliance was born.

SEPT 19 — Aftershocks of the dismal showing by Malaysia’s ruling coalition in last year’s general election continue to reverberate through the political landscape. Slowly but steadily, structural reforms are becoming undeniable.

It is now not so much about whether the Barisan Nasional (BN) will reform itself or not, but whether it can stay whole during its painful transformation.

What phoenix — or phoenixes — will rise when the dust settles is the key question? What will never rise again?

SEPT 5 — Undoubtedly, the 60-year-old MCA, just like the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), its senior partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), has had a long history of conflict. The current split, however, comes when the party is at its weakest; and BN, the coalition that had always been the vehicle for the MCA’s success, is facing the strongest opposition it has ever known, having lost its two-thirds majority for the first time in last year’s general election.

One quick look at relevant tables shows that the MCA today has substantial support only in semi-rural and rural states.

AUG 22 — Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak is reportedly trying to get his Cabinet to drop the requirement for Malaysians to state their race in official documents.

This is a positive move but it raises questions about how far the government is willing to go in tackling Malaysia’s principal quandary, and whether it realises how deep the race-related crevices actually are.

Getting rid of the mention of “race” in official documents is the simplest, and most easily-enforced measure the government could take to hint at the direction it wants to go.

AUG 19 — All parties agree on one thing in Malaysia at the moment, and that is that things are in flux.

The politically positive trend is to talk about "reforms". Nevertheless, the political bedrock is very much a conservative one, in some areas extremely so.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has never been known as a reformist. He is now in control of a powerful apparatus of power that cannot but be conservative after having held power for over 50 years.