KUALA LUMPUR – Instead of calling on the chairman of Barisan Nasional (BN) to resign in the wake of the 15th general election, it is better for MCA and MIC to leave the coalition, BN’s Pulai division chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said today.
“Today we see that MCA and MIC are so aggressive in demanding the chairman of Barisan Nasional, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, to step down in an honourable manner,” he said, claiming that there was a threatening message that the supreme council would otherwise be disbanded.
“I warned MCA and MIC not to play with fire at a time when the country is facing a crisis, (and) not to act excessively and selfishly.”
He said that MCA and MIC may have forgotten that they had won only two and one seat respectively in GE15. This was despite MCA contesting 44 seats and MIC nine.
He said that the three they had won were Malay-majority constituencies.
“Without Umno, would you have won this victory?” Nur Jazlan said.
“But today, like ‘kacang lupakan kulit’ (proverb meaning one who have forgotten their roots), you are noisy and clamouring to urge the chairman to step down honourably? Where is your own honour?
“I advise you that instead of urging the chairman to resign, you should leave the BN coalition.”
He asked if the MCA and MIC leaders who were being critical cared about the plight of the people or if they were being greedy for positions and power for themselves.
“Don’t you care about the support of the Indian and Chinese people increasingly leaving BN? But pointing fingers at the Umno president,” he said, referring to Zahid.
“Stop making attacks and threats and provocations. Let the democratic process take place properly. If you have dignity, you leave BN and join any coalition that accepts you.”
MCA secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon, in a statement on November 20, urged Zahid to step down so a new leader can take over and lead BN.
He took exception to Zahid’s decision to cancel a BN Supreme Council meeting which was supposed to take place that night.
“MCA is firm that no single party can represent BN to negotiate with any political parties without the mandate from the coalition’s supreme council,” he said.
Chong later accused Zahid of going against the collective decision made by the coalition’s supreme council and for not communicating its resolution “correctly” to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the matter of forming a unity government.
Following this, MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong, MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran PBRS deputy president reportedly expressed no confidence in Zahid’s leadership in BN in an official letter to the coalition. – The Vibes, November 24, 2022
