KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong turned to a famous Andy Lau movie quote to poke fun at the government’s handling of policy criticisms, saying MCA’s positions have been consistent and grounded in public interest.
Speaking at the 3rd General Assembly of the 30th MCA Central Delegates, Dr Wee said that whenever the party raised issues, it did so from the people’s perspective, but was often met with denial.
“Every time MCA criticises or makes suggestions, we do it from the people’s perspective,” he said, adding that ‘a certain party’ behaved as if it had a ‘denial syndrome’.
“It’s always, ‘I’m not wrong, I won’t admit I’m wrong; if there’s a problem, it’s MCA’s fault, or it’s Wee Ka Siong’s fault’,” he said here on Sunday (Dec 7).
Dr Wee cited the e-invoicing system as an example, saying MCA highlighted technical problems and extra costs for businesses but was accused of "betraying one's own."
“Yet in the end, the government adopted MCA’s views and raised the exemption threshold from RM500,000 to RM1mil to ease pressure on SMEs,” he said.
On subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for hawkers, Dr Wee said MCA was similarly criticised when it opposed enforcement that pushed small traders to use pricier commercial gas.
“But the Cabinet later exempted hawkers from enforcement, which showed our concerns were valid,” he said.
Dr Wee added that despite talk of amending the Control of Supplies Act, no changes were tabled, and noted that such amendments were not even needed.
“This doesn’t require amending the law or putting on a big show, calling hawkers, holding dialogues and so on.
"The minister just needs to gazette a decision allowing hawkers to continue using subsidised LPG, and the problem is solved."
To sum up his frustration, Dr Wee turned to a well-known Cantonese line from Hong Kong star Andy Lau’s 2004 film Blood Brothers.
“I say, but you don’t listen, you listen, but you don’t understand, you understand, but you don’t do, you do, but you do it wrongly, you do it wrongly but don’t admit, you admit, but don’t change, you change, but you are not convinced. Then what do you want to do?”
This drew loud applause from delegates, who appreciated the clever wordplay.
Dr Wee noted that MCA’s role was to keep speaking up on practical issues affecting businesses and ordinary people, even if it meant being criticised first and vindicated later.
“MCA’s positioning is clear, and our stance has been consistent,” he said, adding that the outcomes on e-invoicing and LPG enforcement showed that “the worries from the ground were not baseless at all”.
In a notable March 2025 Singapore Parliament session, its Manpower Minister Tan See Leng also used the same Cantonese quote to respond to an opposition MP's questions on employment data.
