The Malaysian Insight

MCA and MIC will remain with Barisan Nasional despite stating last week that they are looking at their future options, including dissolving the former ruling coalition.

The coalition will form a technical committee to look into the grievances of both component members, said BN acting chairman Mohamad Hasan.

“The resolution (to dissolve BN) was tabled and discussed but there was no consensus on it. But we will take heed of its recommendations and a committee will be formed to look into grievances brought by our partners,” Mohamad told reporters after the BN supreme council meeting today.

This the first BN supreme council meeting after two of its component parties, MCA and MIC, said last week that they are looking at their options following Umno’s move to forge closer ties with Islamist party PAS.

Umno, the Malay nationalist party which leads BN, wants to form a formal pact with PAS, its traditional nemesis following several by-elections in which both worked successfully together. 

Umno and PAS are attempting to take over Putrajaya from Pakatan Harapan by crafting an ultra-conservative communal platform that they hope would appeal to Malay-Muslims who make up more than 60% of the electorate.

After BN’s historic defeat in the general election last year, its first since Merdeka, MCA had decided to move a resolution to dissolve the coalition.

Mohamad said the meeting also discussed grievances about the previous BN administration under prime minister Najib Razak.

“For instance, MIC brought up the issue of the direct distribution of aid to the Indian community by the previous government, as this had weakened MIC. Before that system, all aid to the community was through MIC.

“This, along with state-level BN administrations, will be discussed by the technical committee so that no one feels they are sidelined.”

BN is very much intact, and MCA and MIC are committed to the coalition, he said, dismissing reports that the pact is on the brink of collapse.

“Umno has never wanted BN to be dissolved because we have been together for a long time and we have done much for the country.”

MCA president Dr Wee Ka Siong said he accepts the fact that there is no consensus to dissolve BN.

“Since the very beginning, BN has made its decisions based on consensus, and not unilaterally. Now that the decision on our resolution has been made, I will go back and discuss this with the MCA central committee.

“We want BN to return to its core values, its original intent, which is to support togetherness and respect the federal constitution.” – March 8, 2019.