- 6 months ago
- #considerthis
MCA is part of the Madani Government through its membership in BN, yet it has become increasingly vocal in criticising the administration. What’s the party’s strategy? On this episode of #ConsiderThis Melisa Idris speaks with Neow Choo Seong, Communications Chief of Barisan Nasional Youth & Information Chief of MCA Youth.
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00:00Hello and good evening. I'm Melissa Idris. Welcome to Consider This. This is the show
00:15where we want you to consider and then reconsider what you know of the news of the day.
00:19MCA Secretary General Chung Sin Woon publicly declared recently that the party was at a
00:25crossroads urging it to chart its own path after more than two years of political drift since
00:33GE15. Now there's even speculation swirling that MCA could leave Parisa National and even join the
00:41opposition coalition Perikata National. So some of the questions we'll explore in this episode is
00:48to see where is MCA heading and is Parisa National still a functioning coalition
00:55or is it simply a shell of its former self. Joining me on the show today to discuss this further
01:00is Neo Choo Siong who is the Communications Chief of Parisa National Youth and Information Chief of MCA
01:09Youth. Neo thank you so much for being on the show with me. I appreciate that you're here. There's
01:13lots to talk about with the party. So let's start with that quote that your Secretary General said
01:20recently about MCA being at a crossroads and that the party should seek to chart its own path.
01:26Can I get you to respond to that from your perspective in the youth wing do you think that the party is
01:34at a crossroads? Well I think it is fair to say that the party has to make a decision in view of
01:46we are already approaching the midterm of the since the last GE and I think it is important for MCA
01:58to really plan and also look at how we can revive the party come next general election. So I think we
02:10cannot just sit and wait of course as an independent party we have the right to determine what the future
02:24lays on the party and where should we be heading to. So these are the questions that I think our Secretary
02:32General, Datuk Chong-Sin Woon is responding to the grassroots because there are a lot of voices from the
02:42grassroots asking what is the direction of MCA. I think that is more important as a leader I think for
02:48the leadership of MCA to really listen to really thinking of these concerns. That for me is valid.
03:03Thank you for kind of sharing a little bit about what the grassroots are. I'm curious to get into
03:09more detail about that but let's talk about where MCA is now and I kind of want to get take a snapshot
03:18self-assessment of where we are at the moment. So MCA is part of the coalition government through its
03:22membership in Barisan National but in the I would say recent months even years since you've been in
03:31this government the party has been quite public in its criticism towards the government particularly
03:38government decisions, government actions, management and the like. Talk to me about that. To what
03:43extent can MCA criticise the government while remaining part of the coalition? Well I think
03:52as everyone is aware I think we have only two members of parliament left that is currently serving.
04:01So it's also fair to say that even though we are the minority in the coalition but I think our voice is
04:14louder and stronger than anyone else. It's unfair to say that we are trying to be
04:21more opposition than opposition. You've heard that criticism. Of course it's open, it's public.
04:28But people forget what is the real meaning of democracy. What is the role and function of the members of parliament.
04:40Besides representing the party, they are also representing the voters, the public, the rakyat who
04:48who have chosen them into the parliament. So there are different roles. Things that we need to
04:59understand is that whether the issues that brought up by the two member of parliaments from MCA are valid,
05:08are of public interest or it's merely political. And it's very often we can see the issues that brought up by
05:16the two members of parliament, particularly Datuk Sri Wika Siong, are concerning the real ground
05:25sentiment, the real public interest. For example, we start with KWSP, we start with e-invoice, we start with
05:34the recent one. UM admissions, UM admissions, UM admissions and SPM, straight A students who
05:47were, I mean, refused to be admitted because of A-minors and so on. These are the issues that really
05:56really touched and really hit the ground very hard. So if everyone thinks that all government MPs should
06:10just be supportive and there is no voice, critical voice to bring up issues, what more when the opposition is
06:21is at the weakest point. Right. And who will represent the public interest? Now, I think I understand where
06:30you're coming from, but I'm not quite clear. So I'm not clear on what it achieves because MCA isn't
06:38shifting public policy. It's not making any outright changes through its criticism of the current events.
06:47And you don't seem to be gaining any goodwill from within the coalition itself by doing so, by being so
06:53critical. And it could be confusing to the public thinking, are they in the government? Why are they
06:59criticizing the government? So who exactly is this message for? I can agree to disagree, but we can see,
07:07for example, the straight A students issues, you know, surprisingly, we have seen very, we are overwhelmed with
07:20public appreciations, thank you messages across the social media, especially in the Chinese social media.
07:28I do not agree with you that we are not shifting the policy. For example, on SST, the government
07:42reversed, made several reversals. Because of comments? Of the voices, of the voices. I wouldn't say, I mean,
07:50because of the credit goes to Dr. Sriwika Siong, but it's the public pressure. It's the public pressure.
07:56Someone has to bring that up so that the government can listen. But if everyone is a yes man in the
08:03cabinet, or everyone is just acting as a supporting role to PMX, then he wouldn't get the fair assessment.
08:12He wouldn't really get the real sentiment on the ground. Is this welcome, constructive feedback
08:17in the community government? I think PMX, to be fair to him, I think he is quite open. He never
08:25stopped MCA from being critical towards the government, and he said that, right? Your coalition partners,
08:32your allies within the coalition government, are they happy to hear some constructive criticism?
08:37Whether they are happy or not, it's not the issue. The issue is, can we solve the problems?
08:43For the public? Yeah, that should be the concern. We are a political party, and we should represent
08:48the public interest, rather than thinking of the sentiment of the coalition, and so on. In fact,
08:56that can be better. If they think that they are representing, and they are doing their job well, then
09:02at least be the voice. That is what the public is waiting, is hoping for.
09:09So, we have looked at the public-facing side of MCA. Can we talk about MCA's role within the
09:18unity government? How do you assess your relationship with other coalition parties?
09:24Well, everyone is aware there is no representation from MCA in the cabinet,
09:31neither deputy ministers and so on. So, I think it's easier for MCA to function as a backbencher now,
09:45and provide fair assessment, fair criticism to the government from the backbencher's perspective.
09:52And we have to also understand, I think the voices not only coming from MCA itself, we also seen and
10:01heard many critical voices from within DAP, Member of Parliament and PKR, right? Even UMNO, GPS,
10:13who really care for the public interest, right? So, it is unfair to just pinpoint at MCA being very
10:20critical against the government. And what more, there are some leaders from the government
10:28who can't just take it and accuse that MCA is trying to destabilise the government. I think that
10:36is very undemocratic and that is untrue. Is there a serious conversation happening internally
10:47about the possibility of walking away from the coalition, the Barisan National Coalition,
10:53walking away altogether? Well, that is another issue, being in the government and within the coalition.
10:58The reason I ask is, what role you play now in the government is that, so who gains more from staying
11:08within this government within this government? And who stands to lose if you do walk away?
11:13Well, that is never our consideration. MCA's view is that we should remain relevant to the public,
11:23right? Whether the power, it comes and goes, right? It comes and goes. But the objective of the party,
11:32are we for the government, or are we for the people, or for the country, right?
11:38If we just think of being in power, then that defeats the purpose of
11:45why the party was formed to protect, to empower, and to unite the people back then, right? So,
11:55even though I always mention that MCA is a Chinese-based party, but in fact, we should move beyond that
12:04at this political generation, at this juncture. We should be more inclusive now. And that's why I
12:11say, and we are focusing not only on Chinese issues now, we have to focus on national issues. That's why
12:18MCA has to really revive and reset its political path now. So we are at the crossroad, not only whether
12:31we should be in the government or not, but we also have to look at the political coalition that we are
12:38currently in. Whether that can match up to our aspiration, that can match up to the public expectation,
12:48that is more important, right? Because as I said, GE every five years, four or five years.
12:54But if we just stick on power and not on the real objective, I think we cannot survive for long.
13:04Okay. So we've looked externally, let's look internally now for MCA. What are they telling you,
13:11your fellow members? What are you hearing in terms of the conversations that are being had about,
13:17you mentioned at the start of our conversation,
13:19you know, the party should really listen to the grassroots and what is the direction of MCA is
13:27what they're asking. What are you hearing about where they want MCA to head?
13:32We can see it on public. It's not even a secret that many division leaders, division leaders have
13:42came up with a statement that, you know, the party should consider, you know, its position in the
13:49government or to leave and to stay. To me, that is at the grassroots level. And we, as a political
13:56party, we have the process. And we're going to have our AGM from divisional level to state level to
14:03federal level. At the end of the year, is it? Yeah, by end of this year. So I think, good thing about
14:09the current leadership is that the president and the current leadership is quite open.
14:14Open in a sense, he allowed, and they allowed the grassroots leaders to bring up their voices.
14:23And this has to be discussed at the national level towards the end. That, you know, all national level
14:33leadership has to sit down and seriously consider and discuss about the voices, the input that provided
14:42from the grassroots. So it's too premature to me to come up with a conclusion whether we should leave
14:52or we should stay. But again, the objective.
14:56Well, so what are the options on the table? To stay or to leave completely or to leave and join
15:03another coalition? Well, currently, the voices that we hear and we see is that MCA should stand alone if
15:13we remain, the formation remains like BN and PH. Because obviously, there is no space for MCA, right?
15:23Because it's being occupied by DAP, right? So we cannot be going or approaching the next GE by only
15:34fielding two candidates. Politically, that is a suicidal option. And secondly, it doesn't make sense.
15:45We always talk about check and balance. We always talk about we want a stronger voice. We want
15:51we want an alternative to whoever that is in power. So imagine MCA and DAP are together. So again,
16:03who will represent the voice, the public interest?
16:07Okay. So an option on the table is going at it alone? That's why I said the leadership has to
16:17they have to really look into this before the next GE.
16:23Yeah, you said that it's premature at the moment to kind of get us a barometer or gauge of what the
16:29grassroots are saying. But can we zoom in on what the youth are telling you, what MCA youth are saying?
16:34When you think about, you know, specifically young party members in MCA, is there a generational gap
16:44between what the younger members want or see the party headed towards versus, I mean, MCA is an old
16:52party. It's got a legacy of history and traditions and, you know, steeped in maybe an older generation
17:00of leadership. Yeah. Is there a difference between, is there a generational difference?
17:05Yeah. This is a very good question instead of jumping into joining the bandwagon and discussing on
17:13whether we should leave or we should not. The youth, what we are really focusing is that
17:20the future, the direction of the party, especially the younger ones in the party, how can we bring this
17:28party forward? So we want to be relevant to the society, we want to be relevant to the rakyat. So
17:38we need to really look into our own strengths and weaknesses, soul searching, and really try to bring
17:50up something new dimension, new dimension in MCA itself. Like what you rightly mentioned, we cannot
17:55deny the fact that MCA is a long established party. It has its own heritage, history, and so on. But
18:03what the younger generation is looking at is not the past, it's the future. So to remain relevant, what can we
18:11bring on the table to the younger generation? Are we still talking about the past? Are we still talking about
18:17the schools, the business opportunities that MCA used to provide, and so on? No. We should be more,
18:25as I said, inclusive, progressive, so that we can represent the younger voices. This is more important.
18:34So we are in the process of recruiting more young professionals that can be the voice of the future.
18:42So we want the party to have, again, objective that really matches the future, the aspiration of the future
18:53generation. Talk to me about that. Are you seeing young Malaysians joining the party? Are you, in terms of
19:01recruitment, how's MCA doing? Are young people interested, engaged in what MCA is doing, and think of it as an
19:09avenue or an option for them? Well, MCA is still not open to all races. Of course,
19:16we have the, what do you call it, non-Chinese who can be the alliance, but not the direct membership of MCA.
19:28But what we are seeing now is that the party leadership is welcoming. More young, professional Chinese,
19:40not only to join MCA, but to be given pivotal role and also freedom to speak. That is very important.
19:52We are no longer held by the previous protocol and so on where, you know, there are so many
20:01bureaucracies, restrictions, layers, you cannot speak, you cannot do this, you cannot do that. I think we can
20:08see huge changes now when obviously there are so many new faces from MCA, young leaders from MCA youth, actively
20:22involved on social media, voicing out, speaking out for the public. These are part of the transformation
20:31that I wanted to highlight. Although we understand that they are young, they are raw, but at least
20:41they are given freedom to speak out, to represent the generation, to represent themselves. I think that is
20:52a very good start and what is important is that we need to guide them, make sure that we have real
21:03advocates in MCA that can fight for the public interest. What has happened internally within the
21:08party in the past few years that you think has caused this shift, this maybe opening up of allowing
21:17younger party members to try their hand or to give them an opportunity. Often in political parties,
21:25particularly ones that have a clear hierarchy in place, you know, the younger ones never get an
21:32opportunity. They don't get to test their mettle, they don't get an opportunity to prove themselves.
21:36Has that shifted in MCA? Yeah, I mean, speaking from my own experience,
21:40I'm a very new member to MCA. I was never in politics. I was a diplomat, so a young professional
21:51who really cared for the country and the public, the rakyat, was given an opportunity to come in and
21:59to be the voice. Throughout my few years, very few years experience, of course, we are young,
22:09we do mistakes once in a while. But at least the party leadership never stop me from voicing out our
22:18opinions, our views that sometimes might be contradict to those old school, you know, or traditional
22:29approach of MCA. But after years of trying and errors, we can see even the current leadership
22:38acknowledge that generation has changed. Expectation has changed. Ways of doing things, ways of
22:48addressing issues have completely changed. Even the issues have completely changed. Now, the issues
22:54facing the rakyat are no longer just education, no longer public utilities. It's beyond that. It's more
23:02complex. So we need people who really understand the society that can represent the party and to speak
23:11for the rakyat. That is more important. We can no longer represent one group, one singular group, one
23:18singular interest group. No, we have to be more inclusive. What I mean by inclusive is that
23:25the inclusivity should include not only all races, but all walks of life, all different social classes.
23:35That is more important. Right. In the time that we have left, I just want to ask you, because of your
23:40unique position in MCA youth, and you're trying to rally the troops from within the party, the younger
23:45generation. But there's a younger generation who's just not interested in politics. They don't see
23:51politics as an avenue for change. They feel disenfranchised. They feel like they're not being heard and they have
23:57very little agency in shaping the future of the country. What would you say to them?
24:01Well, I always encourage the younger ones to be politically aware. Political awareness is very
24:10important. We understand the current generation, some might have this political fatigue and they are
24:21not really keen on the political issues and so on. But the efforts must keep on going. We must give,
24:30I mean, we must not only engage, but empower them to get involved. From my own experience again,
24:37when I reach out to the university state students, surprisingly, I think they are more
24:47more politically aware about what is going on with the country, the policies and so on. Maybe because of the,
25:00what do you call it, the advancement of social media, news and information. They seem to be aware of what is going on.
25:11But they are upset. They see the political cures, they see the infighting and so on. They think that politics is dirty.
25:22And this is the mindset that we have to shift. I always encourage them. Look, this is the thing that is why I get into politics.
25:33This is why we need the younger generation. We need consciousness. We need integrity. And we need good people to come in and fix this.
25:44I can't change this reality by myself. A single party cannot change this. So we need more, especially the younger ones, that to come in and to really fight for the change.
26:02The change is not only the change swift of power, change of political party. The change should be from the culture, the practices and the mentality.
26:15So that comes from individuals. We can't just expect the political party to change. At the same time, we are just watching.
26:22Yeah, from the outside. From the outside.
26:24Neil, thank you so much for being on the show with me today. I appreciate you coming on and sharing some of your perspectives about MCA for us. Thank you.
26:30Well, thank you and hope to see you again.
26:32That's all we have for you on this episode of Consider This. I'm Melissa Idris signing off for the evening. Thank you so much for watching. Good night.
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