PETALING JAYA: MCA began as a party that fought for people from every level of society and continues to do so even now, although it was set up by a group of business leaders, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The MCA president said the label of “parti towkay” (party of business owners or bosses) does not reflect its legacy of serving the interests of the people since pre-Merdeka times.
Dr Wee: ‘We don’t want the rakyat to fight each other. That’s why we are seen as a party that is not extreme. We want to bring out the spirit of muhibbah.’
“We have sons and daughters of farmers, hawkers, teachers. Does this make MCA a party of towkay?
“When MCA was established in 1949, it was by a resolution from chambers of commerce all over Malaya, which selected Tun Tan Cheng Lock as leader of a party to fight for the interests of the people,” he said in a Facebook video posted yesterday.
Dr Wee made the statement after DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke claimed that MCA had the image of not prioritising the needs of the people, especially the Chinese community.
Loke said this in an interview with Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Sufian Hamdan in their Keluar Sekejap podcast last week.
Dr Wee said the current government also has to work with industry leaders and business owners who are informally dubbed “towkay”.
“Now that they (DAP) are ministers, they are friends with Tan Sris, Datuk Seris. Who is the ‘parti towkay’ now?” he added.
Dr Wee also said the existence of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR) and Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT) stands as testament to MCA’s contributions to society.
“UTAR and TAR UMT have produced 383,000 graduates. This is not a small figure. There are 53,000 students in these two institutions. If MCA had not done anything, how could we have this result?” he said.
In the six-minute video, he stressed that MCA has continued to play its role as a check and balance on the government and is doing everything it can to maintain the nation’s ethnic harmony.
“We don’t want the rakyat to fight each other. That’s why we are seen as a party that is not extreme. We want to bring out the spirit of muhibbah (goodwill between races).
“We continue to maintain that we want a Malaysia that is harmonious and we want good relations between all communities,” he added.
He said any rights enjoyed by DAP leaders also resulted from the actions of past MCA leaders.
“Our citizenship rights, right to vote, the rights enjoyed by the DAP. The right to be elected as an elected representative.
“Do we even have to say this? Don’t say that we have not done anything. That is an insulting thing to say,” he said.
Dr Wee also said MCA will not dance to DAP’s tune.
“By their goal of wanting a ‘Malaysian Malaysia’, we don’t agree on that point. Therefore, we have not achieved what they wanted, on their terms.
“They had the Setapak Declaration in the 1960s, wanting equality among the races. And then they wanted to abolish the quota system. By these standards, they have judged MCA.
“Now, by the grace of God, they are in power. Over to you now, do what needs to be done,” he said.
Dr Wee said many claims by its rivals, including DAP, was done for the sake of political interest, such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) against Sales and Service Tax (SST) debate.
“As long as MCA says GST, they will say SST. That is the problem. They have oversold the idea of SST.
“But we have held on to our principles and continued to advocate for the GST as far superior to SST. This is backed up by the rest of the world,” he said.
