KOTA KINBALU: MCA has accepted the political reality that Malaysia is a multi-racial country, said its president, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
“There is no way we can create a small China in Malaysia … it is no good for the country. So what we want to see is moderation and not just tolerance but acceptance of the fact that this is a multi-racial country,” he stressed.
He also admitted that the Barisan Nasional (BN) was not perfect but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was trying his best to transform the country’s economy and that Sabahans should support this initiative.
MCA, Chua said, also urged Pakatan Rakyat to make public on their candidate for the Prime Minister as the people wish to know who the person is.
“Until today we are not sure who is the Prime Minister from Pakatan Rakyat. We have been asking this question but getting no answer. To be fair to the Sabahans, if you want to vote a party, you must know who the leader is. Is it Lim Guan Eng who is going to be the Prime Minister or Lim Kit Siang or Karpal Singh because the way DAP talk, it is as if they are going to be the Prime Minister.
“Now we were told that there is some doubts about Anwar Ibrahim, that’s why they are trying to get others to be their leader. Is it Nik Aziz, Awang Hadi? Nobody knows. So how can we vote a party where the most important leader is an unknown factor.
“So let us hope the voters in Sabah, especially the Chinese, are not misled by DAP just like during the Sarawak state election, I would say openly that the Chinese had been misled by DAP. So after the Sarawak election you can see that the Chinese in the state lost an important post, the Deputy Chief Minister post,” he said at a press conference in conjunction with the Sabah MCA Convention at the Sabah Trade Centre near here yesterday.
Chua also disclosed that MCA had passed a resolution not to accept any government appointments if the party does not do well in the coming election.
“We will not accept any appointments at any level in the government, even at the local authorities or on the hospital visitors board. We want to send a clear message that as a responsible party we need to get support and the mandate from the rakyat so that we can continue to function.
“We also want to send a strong message that MCA today is a different party, that we have certain political integrity and that we are not as what DAP say, going through the back door to accept minister or deputy minister posts.
“We want to respect the decision of the voters that is the reason why we made this decision and it is unanimous. Today we look at the Sabah state convention and see whether they will endorse this decision which has been passed in all the other states,” he said.