MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek today refuted the allegation that the party was afraid of Umno.
He said questioning the party’s role in Barisan Nasional (BN) and accusing it of being afraid of Umno was unfair as MCA had been involved in nation- building since the beginning.
“If all discussions of the state excos and federal cabinet are taped and the government declassifies these tapes…the people will understand better the role of MCA in a multiracial country,” he said at the second debate between him and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre, here, Sunday.
He was answering a question from panellist Wan Hamidi Wan Hamid, who is also the editor of ‘RoketKini’, on whether MCA was afraid of Umno until it could not point out any corruption happening in the BN coalition, and whether equal partnership really existed between the component parties.
The Debate 2.0 titled “DAP & MCA: Whose Policies Benefit the Country More?”, was moderated by the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute (ASLI) chief executive officer, Tan Sri Michael Yeoh.
Chua, however, questioned back the DAP leader why the party had been so quiet on the alleged accounts worth RM3 billion held by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Guan Eng, however, did not take the opportunity to answer Chua’s question but instead he kept claiming that there was so much corruption happening in BN.
Chua also blasted Pakatan Rakyat for claiming to practise equal partnership but at the same time failed to have a common voice on their logo or when to register the coalition.
“Pakatan Rakyat says equal partnership but until today Pas has never openly endorsed Anwar as prime minister. You can’t even tell us your shadow cabinet. Why is it so difficult? Is that equal partnership?” he asked.
Earlier, in his opening remarks, Chua said MCA had done more than any political party in terms providing tertiary education in the country, as it had produced about 200,000 graduates who included DAP leaders, through Tunku Abdul Rahman College and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman.
“Today, MCA, although a political party, still looks after 45,000 students of all races in our campuses. We are also committed to promoting mother-tongue education in a multiracial country,” he said.
Guan Eng, on the other hand, claimed that the state government managed to wipe out corruption in Penang and would continue to do so to Malaysia if Pakatan Rakyat was given the mandate to rule the country.
Responding to Chua’s question on where the money DAP collected from the public had gone, Guan Eng admitted they collected the money because they depended on public funds to survive, but stressed that they did not steal money from the government.
On Guan Eng’s remark that limited freedom to show talents was among the reasons for the brain drain, Chua said the problem did not only happen in Malaysia but other developing countries as well.
Chua said despite the problem, the number of non-Malay students enrolled in higher education institutions increased last year.
He then urged Malaysians to reject the “ubah” slogan played up by the opposition as it showed lack of accommodation, more of confrontation and any violence was cleverly camouflaged under NGOs.
“Why risk the whole nation to fulfil your own political ambition? You are not fair to the rakyat (people). Your slogan should be ‘power first, chaos later’,” he said.
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