Umno and MCA should stop the blame game and instead learn to take collective responsibility for the GE14 results, said MCA publicity bureau chairman Datuk Chai Kim Sen.
He said both parties had contested under the same Barisan Nasional (BN) banner and it was clear that voters have rejected the coalition.“We contested side-by-side under the same Barisan flag, and we lost as one (team).
“Now, we shall all bear the responsibilities together. If we, instead, choose to redirect the blame to everyone but ourselves, it would be clear that we have learned nothing from our defeat,” he said in a statement on Sunday (June 3).
Chai was responding to the war of words between MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and Umno information chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
Wee was reported to have said that, “Our party is now our priority and not the coalition like before.”
“There is no more political baggage. In the past, there was no room to say ‘no’ or you would be deemed as going against the coalition’s whip.”
Wee said that the party, bound by the BN spirit, rarely spoke openly on what transpired in the Cabinet meetings.
This, unfortunately, was viewed by some parties that MCA had not been able to speak up or do anything for them.
Wee said the perception had been compounded by negative statements on MCA and the Chinese community made by other BN leaders.
Annuar then responded that it was time for Umno to stop “carrying” its “paralysed” Barisan partner and save itself from further defeat.
He said that “perhaps it’s best if MCA makes preparations buy its own tombstone”.
Chai expressed regret that Annuar had not only overreacted to Wee’s comment but also presented his rebuttal in “a most unsightly manner, debasing MCA in the process.”
“This is precisely the type of behaviour that became the impetus of Barisan’s downfall,” he said.
Meanwhile, de-facto Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the spat between Annuar and Wee must stop immediately.
“There is no need to point fingers among leaders. Both leaders must be united in mobilizing to become an effective Opposition,” said Zahid.
He said that both component parties within the coalition still need to stick together in to continue under the same platform.
“Both leaders are only voicing their personal opinion and not the official stand of Umno or MCA,” he said in a statement on Sunday (June 3).
Earlier reports:
June 3, Annuar Musa Fires Back, Telling MCA to “Buy Its Own Tombstone”
June 2, BN Only Alive in Name, MCA Won’t Carry Water for Umno Anymore