KOTA KINABALU: The Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership should take drastic measures including setting up a high-level committee to study the reasons, implications and consequences of the reduced support of the Chinese in Hulu Selangor by-election.Gerakan vice-president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said an in-depth study was needed to address the issue and more importantly to act on whatever concrete solutions proposed expediently
“Hulu Selangor is not an urban seat and development and infrastructure are still needed. So, to receive only 25 per cent support of Chinese votes there is clearly a cause of great concern,” said Mah in a statement yesterday.
“We need to ask ourselves why the Chinese support keeps on reducing after the last general election. Is it because some component parties in the BN like MCA and Gerakan are seen as weak and ineffective in tackling the Chinese community’s woes?
“Or is it due to the perceived over-dominance of Umno and the occasional racial statements made by Umno leaders?”
According to Mah, if the worrying trend of reduced support was allowed to continue unabated, then the effectiveness and credibility of BN as a political coalition that claims to represent all Malaysians would be called into question.
The BN leadership must be brave and bite the bullet in order to regain the support of the Chinese community, he said.