What new govt coalition? MCA brushes off speculation

ALOR SETAR: The MCA has brushed off talk that a new government coalition will be formed soon, saying it's better for the party to deal with issues concerning the rakyat.

Its president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said his party would have been informed if there were indeed plans to form a new government coalition.

Prior to this, it was reported that a total of 79 MPs from Umno, PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) had signed a statutory declaration to give Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad the mandate to do the necessary.

It also claimed that apart from 27 Bersatu MPs, Dr Mahathir also had the support of eight MPs from Warisan and 15 from PKR over this realignment.

"Talk of a new coalition is merely speculation. We face the political reality that Pakatan Harapan is a four-party coalition.

"Although there are camps and internal conflicts within them, we should not make assumptions at this juncture.

"The speculation is yet another issue, and it's better that we focus on being the opposition and maintain a certain professionalism in this matter.

"If there are such plans of a new government coalition, we in Barisan Nasional would have known better as members in the coalition comprising Umno, MCA and MIC have constantly been in touch on many issues," Dr Wee said during a press conference at Star City Hotel here on Thursday (Feb 6).

Rumours have it that Dr Mahathir's "political reshuffle" would start a new coalition comprising Umno, PAS, GPS as well as support from several MPs from Bersatu, Warisan and PKR.

DAP, it is said, might be out of the reshuffled government.

When asked about his support for the "Muafakat Nasional" or national cooperation between Umno and PAS, Dr Wee said it was done in accordance with the Federal Constitution which reflected multiculturalism and moderation.

"There is no reason we should not accept this spirit, as we show solidarity for each other in the opposition bloc," he said.

Dr Wee added the main focus was to address the people's problems and win over the voters in the next general election.

Earlier, he joined leaders of Kedah Umno, MIC and PAS for lunch at the hotel.

Among those present were Kedah Umno chairman Mej Jen Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharum, Kedah MIC vice-chairman S. Sures Subramaniam, Kedah PAS Youth chief Nurul Amin Hamid, MCA vice-presidents Datuk Tan Teik Cheng and Datuk Lim Ban Hong, and Kedah MCA chairman Datuk Goh Chin Cheung.

Goh, in his speech, urged party members to continue serving the people who were disappointed by the unfulfilled promises made by the current government.

"The unfilled promises by the present administration have led to people losing confidence in the government.

"The number of people who are confident of a Barisan takeover in the next term is growing. We need to continue standing united," he said.