The politics of issues and the issue of politicising

By Stanley Koh
COMMENT Politicians seldom forget what a tongue is for. And MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek proved that he was no exception when newsmen pressed him to respond to Lim Guan Eng’s recent message to Chinese guilds and associations.
The Penang Chief Minister had reminded the associations of their self-proclaimed independence and integrity, saying they should not accept the MCA invitation to a meeting of its presidential council.
Chua retorted with sound bites worthy of a politician: “We are not in the politics of politicising issues; we are in the politics of solving issues.”
But why would such a dispassionate reminder be so irritating and unwelcoming to MCA? It is not as if it has never indulged in the politics of politicising issues. Indeed, the party’s history tells us otherwise.
Of course, MCA cannot survive without Chinese support, and it must do all it can to harvest goodwill. This is only politically expedient. The show must go on, especially in wooing influential associations, whose membership can be pervasive, embracing all types of trades, clans and walks of life.
Dialogues between MCA and the Chinese associations have never been blindingly successful. They have not resulted in changes to economic policies detrimental to non-Malay communities or even managed to bring about a meaningful correction of deviant implementation of policies. Nevertheless, there is a consensus that the party must continue to play what role it can with its limited voice in the Cabinet.
But why a sudden change from open dialogues—as practised under previous presidents—to private discussions in an internal party council?
MCA would have pulled off this sort of a political move in the good old days, when the Malaysian political landscape was still a happy fairy tale of justice, good governance and fair play. (At least that is what it would seem like when contrasted against present realities.)
Furthermore, that kind of old-school politics is becoming passé as the nation witnesses the emergence of a two-party system, with the parliamentary opposition even ruling some states.
In need of breakthrough ideas
Yes, times are changing; yet there are desperate quarters engaged in bizarre and pathetic ways of trying to divert the nation’s attention from the changes taking place in Malaysian politics.

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Dialogues with Chinese associations and guilds have all along shown that MCA does it fire fighting on an ad hoc basis when reacting to complaints about economic policies and implementation.

Under the present political circumstances, wisdom demands that Chinese associations maintain their independence, integrity and non-partisan approaches in cooperating with political parties.
They must especially avoid being mistaken for sham organisations that are prey to a political party dancing to tunes played by another political party.
This point is particularly pertinent to the relationship between MCA and the Chinese guilds and associations as well as between MCA and Dong Jaio Zhong (Chinese educationist movements).
Conscientious Malaysians generally seem to agree that a more uncertain economic picture only heightens the need for a new deal under a revolutionary economic development plan that would stop the backward slide of our economy and boost the wellbeing of all Malaysians. It is important to meet social needs and to fight poverty on a non-racial ticket.
MCA is in sore need of breakthrough ideas and the moral courage to oppose injustice and discriminative policies.
Can it overcome these weaknesses by working with Chinese associations?
What seems to have escaped many is history.
MCA leaders used to have a towkay image. In the early days—between 1949 and 1965—about half of the Central Working Committee (CWC) members held posts in the guilds and the chambers of commerce.
According to Prof Chan Heng Chee, author of 'The Malayan Chinese Association', “at no time were there fewer than 30 percent of the MCA’s CWC members overlapping with either the chambers of commerce or the Chinese guilds.”
MCA was built upon the Chinese chambers of commerce and guilds. Typically, a state leader was also an office bearer in the chamber of commerce of his state.
“The fact that Chinese association leaders were the founders and promoters of the MCA resulted in the party being physically accommodated on the premises of Chinese associations, most notably the chambers of commerce,” Prof Heng Pek Koon writes in her book, 'Chinese Politics in Malaysia: The MCA'.
“The administration of party affairs was often attended to by employees of Chinese chambers of commerce or huay kuan, which accommodated the party branch.”
The party also had closely-knit links with the Chinese education movements, the United Chinese School Teachers Association (Jiao Zhong) and the United Chinese School Management Committee (Dong Zhong). But this is no longer true.
Prof Chan writes: “Between 1949 and 1964, the MCA shifted from the position of an insistent spokesman for Chinese rights to that of a comprising negotiator. In 1961, Tan Siew Sin told the (Chinese) association members plainly that two choices lay before the MCA.
“It could choose to submit to the jingoistic minority and retain a short-lived popularity, or it could continue on the road that had served it well: being race friendly and tolerant.
“The more communal elements in the party complained that the Chinese were expected to sacrifice their hard work to appease the Malay Mammon.”
Prof Heng writes: “Even from as early as the 1959 debacle, the MCA has never again regained the same level of support it had earlier commanded from the Chinese community.”
Ad hoc fire-fighting

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At the end of the day, after more than 50 years, these economic plans have failed to bring our country forward to where it should be. Now the nation is at a crossroads again.

Today, Chinese politics and MCA are continuing to move to the periphery in an atmosphere of one-race dominance and discriminative-based politics, fanned by the chauvinistic support of dubious organizations.
Part of the blame should go to MCA’s accommodationist role in the past.
However, what is important now is for Chinese associations to provide a conscientious third channel of articulation towards a multiracial integrationist approach in handling economic and social issues.
Dialogues with Chinese associations and guilds have all along shown that MCA does it fire fighting on an ad hoc basis when reacting to complaints about economic policies and implementation.
The record shows that MCA leaders have been prone to heaping praise on the prevailing system, fully supporting economic plans whose contents were often decorated with beautiful rhetoric composed by the Barisan Nasional government.
This was despite maladministration, implementation deviations, corruption, power abuses and the shenanigans of little Napoleons. The party seems powerless to act against race-based policies.
At the end of the day, after more than 50 years, these economic plans have failed to bring our country forward to where it should be. Now the nation is at a crossroads again.
Malaysians need to be constantly reminded that the New Economic Model is supposed to be need-based and not race-based. If it fails, we will recall the quip that a British MP once made about a baker saying, “I’m really sorry I poisoned your daughter with that cream horn. No manslaughter was intended, but it was merely a result of bad baking.”
Perhaps, Malaysians must decide not to hold their tongues.
Fortunately, in defiance of our submissive culture, Malaysians are gradually waking up. And they should be wagging their tongues, calling for a change under a two-party system.
Yes, it is time that Malaysians should actively engage in the politics of politicising issues and not leave the job to politicians alone. It is time for the people to lead the government because we have had enough of the government leading us nowhere.

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Stanley Koh is a FreeMalaysiaToday contributor.