Ong admits to Ijok Chinese vote swing

Updated! From Malaysiakini:

...MCA president Ong Ka Ting was quoted in the New Straits Times today as saying that the swing of some Chinese votes in Ijok was a result of unhappiness with the service of the previous assemblyman as well as several sensitive national issues.

“There were also some rumblings on national issues," he said, adding that some voters had expressed unhappiness over statements made by "some leaders" which they considered hurtful.

"We got this feedback although we had explained that the implementation of policies is based on collective decision-making with a multiracial perspective and not on certain statements by individuals.

"However, they did not accept our explanation," he was quoted as saying...

(for whole article, click here)

Looks like OKT is disputing Kerismuddin's and KJ's assertion throughout that their behaviour and antics (including keris waving) is no longer an issue (isu lapuk) and has been explained and accepted by the Chinese Malaysians. Like they say, facts and figures beat assumptions anytime.

For quite a long time now, people have cynically refer to MCA as the "voice of umno to Chinese Malaysians". Of course, to MCA and to their diehard supporters, they are still having this illusion that MCA is the voice of the Chinese Malaysian in government. The fact as has been shown in countless issues throughout the years is that it is naive and day dreaming to imagine that MCA has even a slightest input to formulating government policies. Ever since the unfortunate 1969 racial clash, the political power structure of Alliance (pre-cursor to the BN) has changed from that of a inter-communal one to a umno dominated one with the other BN parties playing a subservient and supporting role. Understanding this reality one would be able to see why MCA is behaving more like a social welfare organization than a political party.

The inability of MCA leaders to have any impact in the decision making process (perhaps whatever effect they have would be purely opinions to be taken into consideration) shows regardless of what they attempt to tell us otherwise. And it finally shows in a clear manner in the form of a vote swing. For too long the Chinese Malaysians have been facing various issues which MCA has seen it fit either to not raise it (or even having a stand), or choose to downplay the problem. Worse would be when they start behaving like what the cynics and critics have been pointing out: to "explain" umno's undesirable and racist antics, especially when the Chinese Malaysians are the targetted scapegoats. Keeping quiet and silent is bad enough, but to try to justify the unjustifiable done by someone else, especially if that someone else is perceived to be the boss, is bordering on treason. The Chinese word for that would be "running dog".

It is time for Malaysians to wake up to the fact that they have 2 choices: continue with the present system which is racial hegemony perpetrated by a dominant umno with subservient racial parties, or be daring enough to choose a new truly multi-racial approach. Needless to say, your choice, and the choice of all Malaysians, will decide the future of this nation.

Update: I just realized DAP's Secretary General Lim Guan Eng has released a press statement regarding Ong's lame response on Ijok:

Instead Of Trying To Condone And Explain Away UMNO's Extremist Threats On The Chinese Community, Ong Ka Ting Should Demand That UMNO Admit Their Mistakes And Apologise To The Chinese Community.

LIM GUAN ENG
3 May 2007

MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting is saying nothing new when he identified the big swing in Chinese votes in the Ijok by-election was caused by their unhappiness with both the poor service of the previous assemblyman and sensitive statements made by UMNO leaders which were hurtful to the Chinese community.

As MCA Selangor Chair, there is no reason for Ong not to know that the previous assemblyman was not performing. Instead of resolving their problems, Ong chose to ignore pleas of help from the Chinese community in Ijok. Ong therefore bears equal responsibility as MCA Selangor Chair for the poor service of the previous assemblyman.

Ong's greater failing is his refusal to articulate the unhappiness and aspirations of the Chinese community in Cabinet. BN has consistently broken its promises and taking a negative approach in blaming the Chinese for the wrongs and failures of their own economic policies. First, BN betrayed the Chinese community by extending the NEP until 2020 despite its earlier promises that it will end by 1990.

Secondly, BN blamed the Chinese for its failure to achieve the 30% bumi share equity target even though independent studies by World Bank's Professor Lim Teck Ghee had showed that the bumi share equity had already exceeded 45%. The Chinese community is already upset at being discriminated as second-class citizens, being denied equal political rights as well as equal economic opportunity.

But to be blamed for being "Ali Babas" and threatened with dire threats of violence by UMNO leaders when the Chinese had suffered deprivation of government contracts or university scholarships and places is both a gross injustice and insulting. Amongst the seditious speeches include warning of destruction of Kuala Lumpur and violence against Chinese. No action was taken against UMNO leaders for sedition and neither did they apologise or withdrew what they said.

Ong's approach has been to explain such remarks by UMNO leaders as being acceptable as they were made in a political meeting in the UMNO General Assembly and not in government. Such explanation has been roundly rejected by Chinese voters in Ijok.

Instead of protesting or even demanding a rejection and apology, Ong has chosen to condone them. How can a leader of the Chinese community accept the wrong done to the Chinese community of bearing the blame for BN's wrongdoings and their status as Malaysian citizens meaningless with threatened against their lives and property?

DAP Appreciates Anwar's Thanks For Delivering The Chinese Vote In Ijok And Urges The Chinese Community Throughout Malaysia To Reject BN

For this reason, the Chinese community in Ijok was right to reject BN. DAP urges the Chinese community throughout Malaysia to reject BN so long as they fail to keep their promises to abolish the NEP and refuse to apologise for their threats against the Chinese community.

DAP appreciates PKR National Advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's thanks and appreciation to DAP in a ceramah two nights ago in Ijok for delivering the Chinese vote to PKR. DAP had fully supported PKR by stating that a vote for PKR was equivalent to a vote for DAP in the Ijok by-election.

The Chinese community has also accepted Anwar's explanation that it was UMNO's extremist education policy towards mother-tongue language that he made some mistakes whilst he was Education Minister. Anwar had said that even if he was Education Minister now, he can not revert the teaching of Mathematics and Science into Malay, Chinese or Tamil from English as he would be an UMNO Education Minister instead of the people's Education Minister.

As such the only route to change such extremist education polices is to either to replace or force UMNO to change. Unlike BN leaders including Ong and Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn, Anwar has the courage to admit where he was wrong and make corrections that benefits the people. This quality of daring to admit one's mistake is more admired by Chinese voters than UMNO's abuse of power discriminating mother-tongue language.