PETALING JAYA: The Barisan Nasional candidate for Raub says there was a perception within the Chinese community that the government does not help them, and this needs to be changed in the next five years.
“There is only one thing that the Chinese community wants, and that is fairness in government policies," said MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon.
“They want to see fairness for all. There shouldn't be any segregation.
"There need to be more pro-business policies with fewer bureaucracies and more business-friendly conditions.
“I think the Chinese community do not look to the government for help, but that does not mean they don’t need the government.
"However, there is a perception within the Chinese community that the government does not help them," Chong said during an online dialogue session with other Barisan candidates on Wednesday (Nov 16).
The dialogue was moderated by Barisan's Sungai Buloh candidate Khairy Jamaluddin, who said the purpose of the virtual session was to introduce the coalition's new-generation candidates to voters.
Chong also said that the Chinese community was also looking for a more inclusive and efficient Cabinet.
Chong added that he was in support of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob planning to downsize the Cabinet after the 15th General Election (GE15), in favour of a "lean and mean" lineup.
Meanwhile, Merbok parliamentary candidate Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said the rakyat was "disgusted" by the actions and behaviours of politicians, and that it was up to the Barisan candidates to prove them wrong.
"Moving forward, we need to have clean leaders without any corruption and we need politicians who want to work and also show great determination to serve the rakyat," he added.
Khairy had also asked if they would give their word that Barisan would strive for those values.
Shaiful, who is contesting for the first time, added that the new generation of Barisan leaders should also display the courage to speak up for the truth.
Collectively, with so much at stake in the GE15, Barisan candidates said they were committed to fighting for integrity, and good governance as well as to rejecting abuse of power and corruption.
The other panellists were MIC's Sivarraajh Chandran (Padang Serai) and Mohana Muniandy (Kuala Langat); MCA's Nicole Wong (Tebrau); Unmo's Rozabil Abd Rahman (Arau), Shahelmey Yahya (Putatan) and Shahril Hamdan (Alor Gajah).
Among the topics brought up were their experiences on the campaign trail, especially when facing the local as well as their aspirations and priorities for their constituency and national policies if successfully elected.
The live stream on Facebook garnered some 16,000 views.
