KOTA KINABALU: Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties should be more concerned about bigger issues pertaining to the country or people’s interest rather than incessantly debating about Luyang assemblyman Hiew King Cheu joining MCA.
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) deputy president Senator Datuk Chin Su Phin said the people were fed up with the constant debate surrounding Hiew’s application to join MCA.
“BN component parties need not worry about which party that Hiew has joined, or whether his action was right or wrong because the people will judge for themselves,” Chin said when commenting on the various statements made by BN component parties that they should reach a consensus before allowing Hiew to join MCA.
Chin opined that BN component parties should speak out more on issues concerning our country or the people’s interests, such as the issues of the alleged Muslim convert Teoh Cheng Cheng in Penang and Umno pushing to debate the Hudud law in the Selangor State Assembly.
Chin said Hiew had earlier disclosed that he had filled in an application form to join Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS).
“If Hiew applies to join Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), what will PBS say?”
He said the Luyang state seat had been allotted to MCA and would remain so even if Hiew joined PBRS or PBS.
Chin said BN discouraged elected representatives from its component parties from jumping ships, but none of the component parties had voiced out when Datuk Peter Pang En Yin quit LDP to join Gerakan in the past.
“How come the component parties only demanded that a consensus should be reached within BN when an ex-opposition party member decided to join MCA?”
Chin contended that the decision to accept Hiew into MCA was an internal affair of the party, and thus BN component parties need not debate about the issue.
He reiterated that BN component parties should be more concerned about bigger issues pertaining to our country and people, rather than on Hiew applying to join MCA.
“In my opinion, although jumping ships between BN component parties is not acceptable, an opposition party member applying to join BN component parties should be acceptable.”
Chin said the people would make up their own mind whether it was right or wrong for elected representatives to join any political party, and it was not an issue for BN component parties to worry about.
He added Umno had also accepted many elected representatives who were previously from opposition parties but that did not cause quite a stir among component parties like Hiew’s case.