The Malaysian Insider

Nov 8 — It may be saying too much to claim that Malaysia’s major political parties are self-destructing. But they are certainly not in the best of health.

The recently-ended National Delegates Congress of Parti Gerakan Rakyat was a lacklustre show where a well-timed, sassy challenge to resign issued to Gerakan president Koh Tsu Khoon by an Umno backbencher, Mr Mohamad Aziz, had to be brushed aside.

The main news from the congress was the proposal — quickly rejected — raised at the Gerakan Youth meeting to discuss the party’s withdrawal from the Barisan Nasional coalition.

OCT 24 — The crisis within MCA is different from earlier ones because, no matter how it is solved, not having an inspiring message for the young is a greater and more damning one.

This goes for Umno as well. The fates of the two are inextricably intertwined.

Fifty-seven years ago, the fortunes of Umno and MCA took a quantum leap. In the municipal elections in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 16, 1952, leaders of the two parties at the municipal level decided to cooperate against the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP). In the process, they managed to beat their opponents soundly and the Alliance was born.

SEPT 19 — Aftershocks of the dismal showing by Malaysia’s ruling coalition in last year’s general election continue to reverberate through the political landscape. Slowly but steadily, structural reforms are becoming undeniable.

It is now not so much about whether the Barisan Nasional (BN) will reform itself or not, but whether it can stay whole during its painful transformation.

What phoenix — or phoenixes — will rise when the dust settles is the key question? What will never rise again?

SEPT 5 — Undoubtedly, the 60-year-old MCA, just like the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), its senior partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), has had a long history of conflict. The current split, however, comes when the party is at its weakest; and BN, the coalition that had always been the vehicle for the MCA’s success, is facing the strongest opposition it has ever known, having lost its two-thirds majority for the first time in last year’s general election.

One quick look at relevant tables shows that the MCA today has substantial support only in semi-rural and rural states.

AUG 22 — Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak is reportedly trying to get his Cabinet to drop the requirement for Malaysians to state their race in official documents.

This is a positive move but it raises questions about how far the government is willing to go in tackling Malaysia’s principal quandary, and whether it realises how deep the race-related crevices actually are.

Getting rid of the mention of “race” in official documents is the simplest, and most easily-enforced measure the government could take to hint at the direction it wants to go.