KUALA LUMPUR – MCA has accused DAP of neglecting the well-being of the Chinese inhabited New Villages following the fall of the Barisan Nasional government in the last election.
Its vice-president Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker said despite winning 42 seats in the 2018 election, DAP had wilfully neglected the welfare of the mainly Chinese community in the New Villages, despite having gained 90% of the villagers’ support.
He said DAP had also deemed it fit to “abandon” the Housing and Local Government Ministry.
“DAP did not have the outreach, expertise or experience to fill in the vacuum of the village headman role created by MCA (being ousted) since DAP does not have the grassroots organisation that MCA has, despite the former’s popular support at the national level,” Ti said in a statement.
Historically, New Villages were internment camps that separated communist guerrillas from their civilian sympathisers during the insurgency.
While the areas have evolved, Ti said New Villages now represent a special settlement landscape in Malaysia, forming the roots of the Chinese social, economic, cultural, and religious ways of life.
He said the villages were also synonymous with MCA, a party that has its outreach, touchpoints, and network in every New Village in the country.
Ti said prior to 1970, the villages were “neglected orphans” of the government with poor infrastructure and social amenities compared to nearby townships.
However, the allocation for the development of New Villages was increased from RM45 million to RM107.6 million under the 8th Malaysia Plan.
He said between 2000 and 2005, then MCA president and housing and local government minister Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting secured a further RM209 million in addition to the original RM117.46 New Village development fund, delivering a total of RM326.55 million for that period.
“The welfare, social amenities, and improved infrastructures are critically important for the continued well-being of New Village residents,” Ti said.
“The intended socio-economic transformation of the New Villages requires a smart partnership with various stakeholders from the government, non-governmental organisations, the private sector, and local communities.
“MCA is the only political party with a close and proximate connection with all these stakeholders with a history of successes.”
He said when the Perikatan Nasional government took over from Pakatan Harapan, MCA attempted to correct the “break” in the chain of administration or connections with New Village stakeholders.
The party had appointed an official to liaise with the Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, so it could revert to the old structure or representation to enable more effective attention and focus to resolve the many problems faced by the New Villages, but the effort failed.
Ti said many New Village residents have approached him to complain and express grouses over a feeling of collective abandonment since “Malaysia Baru arrived in 2018”.
In light of this, the MCA leader called upon newly minted Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to rectify this sense of neglect and abandonment reportedly felt by the New Villagers as a result of changes under Malaysia Baru.
“The prime minister has many New Villages in his constituency of Bera, hence he will be able to comprehend and empathise with the frustrations of the New Villagers when their network was disconnected or disrupted.”
However, Ti did not explicitly mention whether MCA should be considered for the housing and local government portfolio. – The Vibes, August 24, 2021
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