MCA ‘always’ relevant, say party leaders
(The Malaysian Insider) – MCA leaders today lambasted former party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for saying the party is becoming increasing irrelevant, claiming there is no basis for his remarks.
They denied that the Chinese community had written the party off, claiming that the MCA was on its way to regaining Chinese support.
Ong had told The Malaysian Insider in an interview that the MCA was on the path to irrelevance, and that the Barisan Nasional (BN) component has not heeded the push for reform that saw the party lose 25 of the 40 federal and 59 of the 90 state seats it contested in Election 2008.
He had said the reforms he tried to implement in the MCA “all went down the drain” after he was ousted.
“MCA is always relevant. Although we lost badly in 2008, we still have strong representation within the Chinese community.
“He (Ong) can say what he likes, but he must not eat his own words,” said MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
Liow said that when Ong was president, he had instructed MCA members to refrain from saying bad things about the party.
“No (we are not irrelevant), MCA has been working hard to ensure support of Chinese,” said Liow.