If MCA and CTA want a Chinese PM they have to work with DAP

The aspirations of the Chinese community is to eventually see a Chinese take over as Prime Minister. But this can only happen if the Malays are badly divided while the Chinese are all united under one political group. And, while DAP is dividing the Malays, the CTA is uniting the Chinese. Now the Chinese have bargaining power that the Malays used to have but no longer have.

PAKATAN’S GAME OF THRONES

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been saying for some time now that the Federal Constitution of Malaysia does not stipulate the race, religion and gender of the Prime Minister. The Constitution is silent on the matter. That means the law does not forbid a non-Muslim, non-Malay, woman from being appointed as Malaysia’s Prime Minister. The only condition is that the Prime Minister has to be a Member of Parliament and a Senator cannot become a Prime Minister like a Cabinet Minister can.

If Mahathir wants to oust Najib then he has to agree to a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister to get the Chinese support

However, the first step to having a Chinese Prime Minister would be to divide the Malays into many groups so that they lose their strength and bargaining power, which is what DAP and the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan is currently doing. While the Chinese are all united under DAP and, according to DAP, they monopolise 90% or so of the Chinese votes, the Malays are divided into Umno, Pribumi, PAS, PAN and PKR (while PKR is divided into the pro-Azmin Ali and anti-Azmin Ali camp) and it looks like PAS is heading for yet another split.

Lim Kit Siang, the de facto Opposition Leader, however, is too smart to start talking about a Chinese Prime Minister at this stage. He knows that this is too much of a paradigm shift even though it is perfectly legal and allowed by the Constitution. The move for a Chinese Prime Minister must not be done in one step. It would require two steps. First appoint a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister and then go for a Chinese Prime Minister.

But that can happen only on one condition. And that condition is the Chinese have to unite across political boundaries. So that means MCA and DAP must be united. But that can only happen if there is an ‘orang tengah’ to play the role of a bridge or matchmaker. And that orang tengah is the Chinese Trade Associations or CTA. MCA or DAP on their own can never achieve this. It has to be both MCA and DAP working together. On their own MCA and DAP do not have the numbers. Together they do. But the CTA is the only party that can make MCA and DAP work together for a common cause.

In case you may not have noticed, the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan always talks about who should be the Prime Minister. They also always say that the Prime Minister is still going to be a Malay-Muslim. But they remain silent on who is going to be the Deputy Prime Minister. Well, this is because the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan plus Mahathir’s Pribumi know that it is impossible for Barisan Nasional and/or Umno to be brought down unless they not only split Umno but also split Barisan Nasional and get all the Chinese from both sides of the political divide to support DAP.

This is crucial and the only way the present political structure and system is going to change. Short of that it is going to be a pie in the sky. If they want a Chinese Prime Minister then they first have to aim for a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister — and this can only happen if the CTA can get MCA and DAP to work as one.

The Chinese guild and association leaders bring MCA and DAP together to work for a common cause: the Chinese political agenda

And that is why MCA and/or Liow Tiong Lai is no longer attacking DAP like they used to do during the time of Chua Soi Lek and Ong Ka Ting. In those days DAP was MCA’s enemy. Today, MCA is DAP’s shadow partner who are both fighting for a common cause. Of course, MCA can choose to continue fighting DAP but since DAP controls the Chinese votes that would mean MCA is going to get totally wiped out in the next general election. However, if MCA becomes DAP’s running dog, then DAP will donate 7-8 seats to MCA in the next general election.

It is all a matter of self-preservation and survival. Try to become a hero and you will be a dead hero. Become a DAP running dog and you will receive charity and be given dedak. For MCA, why be a dead hero when becoming a running dog offers you survival? And the bonus would be to see a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister, the first step to having a Chinese Prime Minister, which is worth more than all the awards a hero status brings with it.

And this is something the Malays do not understand. Malays do not see that MCA and DAP can argue and fight but when it comes to Chinese causes they put politics aside and unite. Take the Chinese education, schools and language issue as one example. In the hall there is no MCA or DAP. They are all Chinese united by a cause. Only outside the hall do they fight as MCA or DAP.

PAS and its President, Abdul Hadi Awang, realise this. And that is why PAS is prepared to sit down with Umno and work together on a case-to-case or cause-by-cause basis. This is what MCA and DAP are also doing. So why can’t Umno and PAS do the same thing? Why is it okay for MCA and DAP to shake hands based on causes and issues but it is wrong for Umno and PAS to do the same thing?

The Chinese, of course, see the danger of Umno and PAS cooperating even if just on certain causes and issues because for the Malays race is synonymous with religion and vice versa. That is why MCA and DAP are whacking Umno and PAS for ‘talking’ when, in fact, MCA and DAP  are doing precisely the same thing. Through the effort of the CTA, MCA and DAP are supposedly talking about what they mischievously call ‘Hadi’s Bill’ or the ‘Hudud Bill’. That is being very naughty. It is not ‘Hadi’s Bill’ or the ‘Hudud Bill’. It is the Sharia Amendment Bill or RUU355.

So MCA and DAP pretend that they are concerned about what they call ‘creeping Islamisation in Malaysia’. That is just en excuse to allow them to talk without being criticised or to avoid being called a traitor, turncoat or whatever. If MCA and DAP meet to discuss how to protect the non-Muslims from Islam then no one is going to attack them for that. In fact, many would support the move and would say it is a good idea for MCA and DAP to sit down and work together.

MCA and DAP will also get the support of the church and the inter-faith groups. Even the liberal and secular Malays-Muslims would support MCA-DAP unity, not realising that the real agenda is Chinese political dominance and not about stopping Islam from interfering with their civil liberties and human rights, as they pretend that this is what MCA-DAP unity is all about.

There is no MCA or DAP inside the meeting room: there is only Chinese causes

MCA and DAP have to make sure that the impression they give is they are uniting because of the threat of Islam to your civil liberties and human rights. Then they will get wide support, even from some Malays-Muslims. They cannot give the impression that MCA and DAP are really talking about politics, the Chinese political agenda in particular. And the Chinese political agenda must ultimately lie in a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister, the first step to a Chinese Prime Minister.

Of course, this part of the agenda has to be discussed behind closed doors and is just for the ears of MCA and DAP and not for the entire DAP-led Pakatan Harapan. Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir, however, know that this is the reality of the political situation. If they want to attain power then they must make a deal with the Chinese. Without the Chinese, Anwar and Mahathir are as good as retired. And that is why Anwar and Mahathir also just talk about who should be the Prime Minister but remain absolutely silent reading the post of Deputy Prime Minister.

The other point is that whoever is going to be the DAP-led Pakatan Harapan’s candidate for Prime Minister must be under DAP’s control. And for DAP to control this Prime Minister he must contest in a Chinese majority seat. Then it would be up to DAP to decide if this person wins or loses the election. So, if Muhyiddin Yassin is that man, then he would not contest in this traditional Malay-majority seat but would shift to a Chinese-majority seat that DAP controls. That would make the Prime Minister (even though he may be a Malay not from DAP) a DAP Prime Minister. Then this ‘DAP Prime Minister’ would appoint a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister.

One thing that most Malaysians forget is that the credit for upholding Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools should, in fact, be given to MCA and not DAP. It is because of MCA that Malaysia allows Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools. However, the beneficiary of Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools is DAP and not MCA. And MCA knows this very well. Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools breed anti-Malay and anti-government Chinese who support DAP and not MCA. So, invariably, MCA is helping DAP win more support and for the government to lose support.

Chinese community to develop common agenda, says Liow Tiong Lai (READ HERE)

And this has been going on for decades. Mahathir and Anwar know this very well and during Barisan Nasional meetings MCA was told many times that they should reconsider the impact of Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools. Maybe Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools is not such a good idea after all. MCA, however, argued that if the government bans Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools then MCA is going to lose the support of the Chinese. But then MCA has lost the support of the Chinese anyway and it is because of Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools.

Is MCA so stupid that it does not realise this? No, MCA is not stupid. They are actually all very clever. They know that the very thing they defend (Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools) on the excuse that they need this to maintain Chinese support is the very thing that is resulting in them losing Chinese support. It is intentional and is all part of a bigger Chinese political agenda.

Now MCA is telling Umno that if Barisan Nasional can promise the Chinese that Malaysia is going to have a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister then the Chinese will swing back to MCA, meaning also to Barisan Nasional. That is all you need to get back Chinese support, appoint a Chinese as the Deputy Prime Minister.

Yes, that is what MCA says about Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools as well. Allow Chinese education, Chinese language and Chinese schools and the Chinese will support MCA. But then the opposite is happening. So will appointing a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister really bring the Chinese back to MCA and Barisan Nasional or is this just going to be the first step into eventually having a Chinese Prime Minister?

Yes, the Chinese in China called this the Great Leap Forward (大跃进; Dà yuè jìn). This is also the Great Leap Forward for the Malaysian Chinese political agenda. Get Umno to agree to a Chinese Deputy Prime Minister and then eventually see a Chinese Prime Minister. And only a weak Umno and an Umno that needs Chinese support because they no longer have Malay support can be forced into agreeing with this.