SINGAMARAJA

MCA president Chua Soi Lek today defended his statements calling for SUPP to reject posts in the Sarawak cabinet, saying he would do the same should they fare badly in the next general election.

“Should the MCA suffer the same fate, as in the 2008 polls, in the next general election, the MCA central committee will then have to deliberate on its position in the federal and state government,” he said in a statement.

Chua (left) was responding to DAP's criticism that the MCA president was hypocritical for making the call to SUPP over the latter's dismal showing at last week's state election.

DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng and party veteran Lim Kit Siang had pointed out that although MCA and Gerakan both fared just as miserably in the 2008 general election, their members had still accepted senate and cabinet posts.

The MCA president sidestepped the criticism saying he was not president at the time.

“As regards to the decision of the MCA to take up government posts after the 2008 general election despite the setback suffered by the MCA, I wish to reiterate that it was not my call. I was then not the party president,” said Chua.

“Similarly, I am not in a position to comment on the position of Perak exco member Mah Hang Soon. I cannot comment on a decision that has been decided by my predecessor,” he added.

MCA only managed to get one state seat in Perak in the 2008 elections.

While returning barbs with his arch rival DAP over who was legitimately the racist party, Chua also maintained his stand on SUPP.

“...SUPP should respect the views of the Chinese community and not be a part of the Sarawak state government. If SUPP wishes to take up any state government positions, it should be represented by its Dayak ADUN in the state government,” he said.

Kok: MCA the real racists

Meanwhile DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok lashed out at MCA deputy president Liow Tiong Lai for dismissing DAP's election results as a result of “racial politics”.

“So deeply entrenched is ... Liow Tiong Lai in Barisan Nasional's (BN) racial rhetoric that he aped Dr Mahathir in blaming the resounding defeat of SUPP leaders in the recent Sarawak state elections upon racial politics by DAP,” said Kok (left) in a statement.

Stressing that DAP's campaign had centred not on race but Sarawak CM Taib Mahmud, Kok said, “It is BN who has been turning a blind eye to the obscene accumulation of wealth by Taib Mahmud through corrupt means while the people of Sarawak continued to live in abject poverty.”

Kok defended DAP as a multiracial party that had fielded an Iban candidate and had non-Chinese in their party, and pointed out that MCA's own constitution clearly limits the BN party's membership to the Chinese, as a point of hypocrisy.

She added that DAP's criteria for candidates was merit, not race.

“Furthermore, many of the seats won by DAP in the Sarawak state election could not have been won on Chinese votes alone, particularly Kidurong, Meradong, and Dudong. In Meradong for example, DAP received a simple majority of 51 perecnt of the Iban votes.

"In Batu Kawah, DAP received substantial votes from the Malay-Melanau community,” said Kok, who is also Selangor senior exco.

“Thus, Liow's implication that Sarawak voters voted according to racial lines is not only false, it is also extremely insulting to the people of Sarawak.

“Thus, I urge Liow Tiong Lai to lead MCA to abandon racial politics and instead, examine his conscience and study the failings of BN which led Sarawak voters to oust SUPP instead of maligning DAP with false accusations best directed at MCA itself,” said Kok.