MCA Cites Sabotage For Poor Chinese Support In Hulu Selangor

KUALA LUMPUR, April 29 (Bernama) -- MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek said Thursday sabotage by party members could have been a factor for the decline in Chinese support for the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election last Sunday.
He said he suspected sabotage when he went to Kuala Kubu Baharu on polling day and found no MCA member canvassing for votes from the people near polling centres there.
"When I went to Kuala Kubu Baharu town on polling day. The polling station which is supposed to be managed by two MCA branches was totally deserted although they had agreed to be there.
"It could be one of the factors because, if they don't even come and help, I don't think they even voted for the BN," he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the MCA presidential council at Wisma MCA, here.
Dr Chua said he had directed party secretary-general Datuk Kong Cho Ha, who was the party's chief coordinator for the by-election, to compile a report and an analysis on the outcome of the by-election.
The report should also cover proof of the element of sabotage by MCA members, including certain branches and grassroots leaders, he said.
Dr Chua said that based on the report, to be submitted by Kong in three weeks, the party would discuss its next move.
The BN recaptured the Hulu Selangor seat after its candidate, P. Kamalanathan of the MIC, beat Datuk Zaid Ibrahim of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) by a majority of 1,725 votes.
The support for the BN was estimated to be 28 per cent from among the Chinese voters, down from the 35 per cent in the general election in 2008.
Dr Chua said a brainstorming session would be held from June 18 to 20 in Port Dickson to discuss several issues related to the party's struggle, including its preparation to face the next general election.
'"We will invite several people prominent in certain fields to discuss, among other things, economic issues and how we can run a more effective election campaign," he said.
The session would also consider ways to ensure that the Chinese community understood the 1Malaysia concept and supported the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, he added.
Asked about a statement by the Malay right-wing movement Perkasa that the MCA had been rejected by Chinese voters since the 2008 general election, Dr Chua said: "Perkasa is an NGO and they have a right to say whatever they want. It is a question of whether people believe what they say."

tunku : keep pointing fingers at others.why there were no MCA's members canvassing for votes during the polling day? chua soi lek should only blame themselves as they failed. where were the mca leaders, they were supposed to go to the ground day and night but the only time the showed their faces is when they followed the pm,dpm or other vvip entourage.there are 8000 MCA members there, what happened to them? you failed chua soi lek. stop blaming others but yourself and your team.MCA need some serious revamp.i guess people believe perkasa more than they believe chua soi lek.