MCA and MIC, leave BN if you have any dignity

By staying on, MCA and MIC would perpetuate the facade that BN is a multi-ethnic entity – which it is not, says P Ramakrishnan.

“Knowing when to walk away is wisdom. Being able to, is courage. Walking away with your head held high, is dignity.”

MCA and MIC have been thoroughly and insensitively insulted and humiliated by an Umno leader and former cabinet minister who is the present Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general. The person concerned is none other than loose cannon Nazri Aziz.

Any self-respecting person would not stomach this insult or endure this humiliation. Only shameless people would not react angrily to this indignity.

When MCA and MIC finally got together to address this painful issue and take a common joint stand to oppose the disrespect shown to them, people thought the matter had reached breaking point. These two remaining parties even stated that if Nazri was to attend the BN meeting, they would boycott that meeting.

These were bold words and a brave decision to take.

But let’s look at the facts.

On 25 February, Nazri was quoted as saying, “MCA should just leave Barisan Nasional like other former component parties.”

Nazri said MCA should follow the footsteps of previous BN component parties like Gerakan and several Sarawak-based parties if they did not like BN.

Then, to drive home his point, he put it bluntly: “To me if they want to leave, just leave lah.” Nazri was so dismissive of the MCA as if they did not count at all and that their presence in the BN was not necessary.

On 4 March, Nazri took on both the MCA and MIC after both parties met and came out with a common statement claiming that they were “moving on” and exploring a “new alliance” following Umno’s silence on racial remarks by Nazri and other Umno leaders.

He shot back at MCA and MIC – who had accused him of undermining the coalition’s multi-racial make-up – saying the two parties should “go ahead and leave”.

“Go ahead, walk the talk. Don’t just talk,” Nazri was reported as saying, when asked to respond to a joint statement by Wee Ka Siong and SA Vigneswaran, the MCA and MIC presidents respectively.

Nazri said Umno too was looking to form a new alliance with Pas.“We want a permanent alliance with Pas to face GE15,” he added.

He simply ignored the claim by MCA and MIC that Nazri’s appointment as the BN secretary-general was “illegal”. Instead, he emphasised, “It is not the MCA or MIC which has the power to appoint the BN secretary-general, but the BN chairman.”

He denied making racial remarks, as charged by the presidents of the two parties. “Wee or Vigneswaran are either blind or deaf because I have already denied, either that or they are stupid.”

How much more insulting can one get? Nazri made it clear that MCA and MIC can quit the BN and that Umno has Pas as its partner. He even mocked them, saying that they cannot survive without Umno.

There is no indication that Umno has repudiated Nazri’s atrocious and demeaning claims. That being the case, should MCA and MIC even attend the proposed BN meeting, with or without Nazri’s presence?

Realistically speaking, their presence in BN is irrelevant. Their fortunes, unfortunately, are unlikely to change in their favour now. So what is the point in sticking around?

The component parties did not wield any clout within BN. They were never equal partners in the BN coalition. It was an Umno-dominated coalition and what Umno said went. Nobody dared to disagree with or oppose Umno.

By staying on, MCA and MIC would perpetuate the false facade that the BN is a multi-ethnic entity – which it is not.

Instead of being part of that farce, they should walk out and expose the fact that Umno is nothing but a racial party. Without them, there will be no BN and without BN there will not be a party claiming to represent all Malaysians.

It is said that “No relationship is ever worth sacrificing your dignity or self respect for.”

This stand might well mean the end of MCA and MIC. But it is worth remembering, “Death with dignity is better than life with humiliation.”

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

1. Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
2. Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
3. Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
4. Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
5. Lawan rasuah dan kronisme

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