|
DATUK Chua Jui Meng, 65, is making his second successive bid for the presidency of MCA this Saturday says in an interview with theSun he is offering his wealth of experience to try and save MCA from becoming political history. Ng Kee Seng, The Sun
Q: In the March 8 general election, we saw the Chinese voting for PAS and Malays voting for DAP and PKR. Do you see this as the beginning of an end to racial politics in Malaysia? | 
Chua Jui Meng
| A: March 8 can be viewed as a turning point for Malaysia. 600,000 new voters entered the political landscape and sent a very strong message to the Government that they were not buying into the race-based policies of the past. Furthermore many voters turned to the Opposition because they felt that Barisan Nasional (BN) was not looking after the needs of all the communities fairly and equitably. Malaysian Chinese in particular were upset with the MCA for not speaking out on their behalf and perceived MCA to be weak in political will. So when the Opposition parties galvanised and promised to uphold their rights, abolish the New Economic Policy (NEP) and tackle the worst excesses of the Government, these voters immediately swung in their favour and delivered them Penang, Kedah, Perak and Selangor. The very sad fact is that in 2004, BN won a landslide victory, 90% of Parliamentary seats, because we promised changes and reforms to the rakyat. We promised to tackle corruption, to be more sensitive to the needs of all the different races that make up this nation. We sowed the seeds of our own destruction in 2008 by failing to keep the promises we made in 2004. Q: If elected MCA president, what is your single most important task? A: To make the MCA relevant to Malaysians in the 21st Century. Back when I was fighting for the party presidency in 2005, I wrote a letter to party members warning that our party was in need of renewal, and that whomever they voted in as president then would determine the acceptability of our party in the future. Bear in mind I wrote this on the back of the stunning election victory BN won in 2004. I wrote that letter because I knew then, even as I know now, that unless the MCA reformed itself to adapt to the maturing needs and expectations of the rakyat, the changing socio-economic landscape of Malaysia in the new millennium, we would very quickly lose all that we gained in 2004. Sadly, I was proved right on March 8. I now predict that if the MCA does not transform itself within the next three years, we will face an even worse defeat come the next general election. So once again, I am offering myself for the party presidency, once again hoping the party will give me the privilege and the opportunity to revitalise the party. Q: How would you go about revitalising MCA? A: I have planned a roadmap built on three ideas which have become the motto of my campaign: Rebuild the Party, Return to Relevance, Realise Vision 2020. In Rebuilding the Party, I intend to address the internal issues plaguing the party. I want to transform our party’s mindset of a subordinate that prevents us from playing a more active role in formulating and deciding key policies that impact our nation. I also wish to move the MCA away from the public perception that it is more interested in social welfare projects. I intend to make politics the main priority of the party’s central leadership. We must be a political party, first and foremost. We must focus on major issues, on national policies. Enough of being heroes of small issues! I also intend to promote transparency in the party by publishing the Huaren Holdings accounts and limiting the powers of the Disciplinary Committee so that it cannot be used to silence legitimate dissent. It is my belief that a transparent party leadership will lead to a transparent government. I will undertake a nationwide exercise to locate all our 1.3 million members and explain to them our efforts to reform and return to relevance, to say sorry for not hearing them in the first place. I want to share with them our renewed focus on the political issues of the day and of how I intend the MCA to be the guardian of their rights as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. In Returning to Relevance, I will pursue a policy of re-engagement with the community. To that end, I will conduct a nationwide tour in the first year of my presidency to hear the views of our community. I will institute a practice for all our divisions to hold community hall meetings with the leaders of their community, to help us pick up on common threads of concern throughout the nation that can be discussed and debated openly in the General Assembly. Hopefully, from such debates, we can come up with policy ideas that can later be tabled to the BN leadership to formulate legislation and government policies that will move the nation forward. MCA will also play a proactive role within the Barisan Nasional to develop a clear and consistent agenda that explains our vision for the nation and our mission to create one unified Bangsa Malaysia. And thirdly, in Realising Vision 2020, I intend to move beyond Party Building to Nation Building. MCA will take on the role as a guardian of the Federal Constitution it helped write in 1957. We will work towards reviewing and re-basing all governmental policies on the foundational rights of the people promised by the Federal Constitution. Amongst other things, I will ask for the government to convene the third National Economic Consultative Council (NECC-3) to review and replace the social restructuring prong of the NEP with a new national policy consistent with the rights of all Malaysians as defined in Article 8 of the Federal Constitution. What Malaysia needs now are policies that guarantee equal participation in a free market economy, legislation that mandates fair access for all educational and employment opportunities, and plans to unite all our communities into a Bangsa Malaysia. Q: Previous and the current MCA president have always said the best way to resolve issues is behind closed doors. Is this also your stand? Should MCA be more vocal? A: My election pledges do not give me the luxury of keeping silent on issues. That being said, there are seasons for speaking out and seasons for quiet negotiations. What we cannot afford is being extreme in either direction. The president must exercise wisdom and good judgment in choosing when to exercise each option. Ultimately what matters to the rakyat is that they see the MCA fighting for their rights and delivering the results. Q: How would you rate Datuk Ong Tee Keat as a leader? A: I don’t believe either of us could have been considered viable candidates for the MCA presidency if we did not have our own sets of accomplishments and leadership qualities. Q: You were supposed to have a live telecast debate with Datuk Ong Tee Keat on Wednesday, organised by NTV7 and Nanyang Siang Pao, which he did not attend. Any comments on this? A: I'm disappointed he couldn’t make it. I believe it's important in a democracy for aspiring leaders to put forward their vision and ideas in open debate with one another so that the voters can see and judge for themselves the quality of their candidates. However, I’m even more disappointed with the Government’s decision to ban the live telecast. Until today, we have yet to see the debate between Datuk Donald Lim and Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek. They allowed the live telecast of the debate between Datuk Seri Anwar (Ibrahim) and Datuk Shabery (Cheek). They allowed the live telecast of the debate between Lim Guan Eng and Tan Sri (Dr) Koh Tsu Koon. Yet they have not allowed the live telecast of debates between MCA leaders who are seeking to inform the public and the central delegates why each would be a better candidate? Why the double standards? Why is an Umno Minister interfering in the democratic election process of the MCA? Who benefits? Q: If you win, is that the end of Datuk Ong Tee Keat’s career in MCA? A: If I win, I certainly hope that Datuk Ong Tee Keat will offer me his aid in achieving my vision for the party. There is enough room in MCA for any leader who wants to serve the nation, and I could use a capable man like him on the team. Q: MCA is often plagued by factionalism, including factions-within-factions. Would it be naive on your part to think that you can overnight rid the MCA of factionalism? A: I would never be so naive as to think that factionalism will ever cease to exist in any political party. For so long as we have the right to hold our own ideas and opinions, we will have factions. However what is important is that we must agree to disagree, and still unite behind the ideas and vision that propel the party and the nation forward. Hence why I want MCA to return to the Federal Constitution, it’s a document that unites all of us, all Malaysians. Hence why I want MCA to work towards Vision 2020 and its call for a Bangsa Malaysia that is progressive and fair. These are the ideas that will unite us as a party and unite the nation as a whole. This is why I will make politics the primary focus of the party and its leadership. This is why I will initiate programmes to reconnect the party with the rakyat. I want us to hear all their grievances, all their complaints, all their hopes and dreams. I want us to hear all that. This is why I will work with Umno and our BN coalition partners to end policies that divide us, that disadvantage the nation. I will work with the BN to formulate a consistent agenda to unite Malaysia, liberalise our economy and achieve Vision 2020.
 |
