KUALA LUMPUR – Is a turf war brewing between the MCA and Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s power bases over Chinese New Villages?
This question has cropped up after Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin was accused of usurping the role of appointing village heads – a traditional role of the MCA.
MCA has accused Azmin of attempting to consolidate Chinese votes and support through Zuraida, who is his chief ally.
By doing so, it gives the impression of eating away at MCA's traditional power base, say critics.
The MCA had even released a circular instructing its members not to accept the appointment of new village heads without the party’s recommendation. Those who do, risk disciplinary action.
Two weeks ago, MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon told China Press that the party does not accept the federal village head posts for two reasons.
The first being doubts over the efficiency of a federal village head especially in opposition-held states, where the state government also appoints its respective new village head to look after the villages.
The second reason is that, Sin Woon feels Zuraida did not respect MCA's recommendation list.
Meanwhile the ministry’s special officer (New Village Department) Richard Tan said the minister has the final say in appointing new village heads, as she wants to make the appointments as “dynamic” as possible.
The ministry, he said considers several other factors when appointing a new village head, including the potential appointee's age and gender.
"She receives recommendations not just from MCA, but also from NGOs and other groups. She places a lot of consideration on youthfulness and gender as she wants to make sure about 30% of new village heads are women," he told The Vibes.
Tan said the reason why Zuraida looks at age and gender is to obtain different ideas towards the development of new villages.
"We have reserved 48 new village head posts to MCA, but as they were not happy with the number, they do not accept any appointment at all," said Tan.
He also said he will leave it to Zuraida to begin any talks with MCA, but he stated that they will always "try to be amicable".
Chinese New Villages were created in the 1960s to counter the communist insurgency. They were managed by the MCA.
It is estimated that there are 1.2 million people living in 450 new villages nationwide. Of this, 80% comprise the Chinese community.
Azmin and Zuraida, were key personalities in the collapse of the elected Pakatan Harapan (PH) government following the Sheraton Move in February that tipped the balance of power to Perikatan Nasional (PN) led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The former PKR leaders have since joined Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu). – The Vibes, October 8, 2020
