– M. Kula Segaran, DAP National Vice Chairman and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on Monday, May 12, 2014

MCA’s backing out of Bukit Gelugor by election proves the “kiasu ”attitude of MCA leadership.

On Feb 12, former MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said MCA should use the Kajang by-election as a gauge to justify efforts by members to convene an extraordinary general meeting for its leaders to accept ministerial posts.

“If the Chinese still reject MCA in Kajang, it shows that they still do not want MCA representation in government and in the Selangor assembly,” he said in an interview.

However, MCA leadership went ahead to hold the extra ordinary general meeting before the Kajang by election. The meeting as expected resolved to rejoin Cabinet although the Chinese community had, in last year’s general election, clearly indicated that they did not bother if MCA would represent them in the Cabinet.

If the Chinese community had wanted MCA to be in the Cabinet, they would have supported MCA but instead, MCA was dealt its worst ever defeat, winning only seven out of 37 federal seats and 11 out of 90 state seats it contested.

It was obvious that MCA’s rush to hold the extraordinary general meeting before the Kajang by election was because it was afraid that it would lose badly in Kajang polls and hence would  not be able to justify its decision to rejoin Cabinet.

This shows how eager MCA wanted to rejoin the Cabinet.

Today, MCA has stayed out of the Bukit Gelugor by election and one of the reasons it has cited was that it wanted to focus on the hudud issue.

This is a terrible excuse as any political party that is serious about championing any issue will take the battle to the people and by election is certainly the battle ground where MCA should be.

MCA’s backing out of Bukit Gelugor by election shows that the present MCA leadership are “kiasu “” (afraid to lose) people. Only cowards are afraid to lose.

And the main reason that they are “ kiasu’ is simply because if MCA loses badly in the by election, it can  jeopardise the three ministerial and five deputy ministerial seats the MCA leadership is hoping to get when there is a Cabinet reshuffle .

MCA will continue to be a failed party even if it is given more government posts because “kiasu” leaders can never champion the people’s interest.