Thursday, 6 March 2014

Shouting is no solution to solving national woes

PETALING JAYA: Amid the protracted religious and racial row drummed up by Perkasa bigots linked to Umno, MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said “we cannot keep shouting our way through”.



She said although the relevant parties were expected to state their stand, “we are here to solve problems, not shout or create more controversies”.

Chew, who is slated to be Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate for the March 23 Kajang by-election, agreed that “there should be more dialogues between the ruling component parties to solve public interest issues, especially those that are sensitive”.

“Maybe we need more BN meetings … we need to improve on the way we handle such national problems and come up with solutions based on consensus. This will then not cause us to differ in opinions and public statements.

“We may then be able to improve public perception on BN,” she told theantdaily in an interview.

She said racial and religious tension started to rear its ugly head due to the lack of dialogue and communication between all stakeholders.

“I believe we should create more avenues for the stakeholders and the people to let them have their say in interfaith dialogues,” Chew said.

She said MCA should always keep communication channels between component parties open and refrain from antagonising one another in the BN coalition.

“In short, we are leaving room for discussions,” she added.

On the public perception that MCA is an Umno stooge, Chew said: “The MCA has been playing a key role in the BN government. We are not subservient to Umno but we don’t shout about it.

“We are in the business of administration, not a contest to shout the loudest.”

Asked whether the Perkasa links to Umno would be a liability to her election campaign, Chew said: “No. When a BN candidate is fielded, all the component parties will be roped in to help in campaigning.”

“Just because Umno is helping MCA in an election campaign, it does not mean that we are subservient to them. We have been doing this for 57 years.”

Deputy Prime Minister and BN deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin had on Feb 21 announced Chew as the BN candidate to face PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the by-election. To date, Muhyiddin, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Umno vice-president and Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi are the key leaders who have gone to the ground to help in Chew’s campaign.

From the MCA, so far, only president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and his deputy Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong have stepped into Kajang to help in BN’s campaign.

However, various MCA leaders have been actively issuing statements to the media to help Chew’s campaign.

On Pakatan Rakyat labelling her as a “sacrificial lamb”, Chew retorted: “BN should not stay out of this forced by-election.”

“The former Kajang assemblyman Lee Chin Cheh had to step down to make way for Anwar to contest. They keep on saying we should stay away from the by-election as it is a waste of public funds and a clear abuse of power.

“But I think we should contest because they have created a vacancy to serve their own purpose; we must use this chance to replace them.

“If we stay out of the election, it is as good as acknowledging and condoning that they have the right to abuse their powers. We should be competing on the premise of clean and healthy democracy.”

Chew urged the public not to view BN’s entry into the by-election as a “losing battle”.

“We must do whatever is right, even if it is risky, so that we can lead by example. For example, the late Tun Dr Tan Cheng Lock took a risky political decision in urging the Chinese to register themselves as Malayans before Independence, even though they were hesitant to do so.

“If we keep worrying about the other possibilities like rejection from the voters or the inability to gain public confidence, we end up being indecisive instead,” she added.

Source: The Ant Daily

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