August 17, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s recent attempts to embolden the MCA appears to have failed to recapture the confidence of the Chinese community as a recent poll here found that only nine per cent of the electorate regard him as a capable leader.
Many believe that the veteran politician’s tainted past would hamper his ability to serve as an effective party president while some even think that he is an embarrassment to the Chinese community.
The survey, carried out between June 27 and July 25, found that although the former health minister’s popularity among the party’s grassroots had secured him the president’s chair during the party polls in March, the common Chinese voter still finds it hard to look past his 2007 sex scandal.
Instead, the voters were more in favour of his predecessor Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to lead the second largest component party in the Barisan Nasional (BN).
Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon scored even lower than his BN counterpart and was named by only one per cent of voters as a capable leader to represent the Chinese.
Both the leaders’ lack of support from the Chinese electorate was further expounded in a general sentiment among voters that the MCA and Gerakan, as Chinese-based parties, were becoming increasingly irrelevant.
Many people believe Dr Chua’s tainted past would hamper his ability to serve well, according to the findings of a recent poll. — File pic
A synopsis of the survey obtained by The Malaysian Insider showed that 62 per cent of voters were dissatisfied with the MCA’s performance, only 24 per cent were satisfied and only one per cent was very satisfied. Only 27 per cent felt that the MCA represented the interests of the Chinese community.
A similar pattern was shown for Gerakan, with 39 per cent of respondents expressing dissatisfaction while 19 per cent claimed otherwise.
The survey, conducted by a Malaysian research house, polled the opinions of 590 Chinese and 413 Malay respondents and included five focus group discussions with Chinese voters in several locations in Peninsular Malaysia.
The research also revealed that there were three main grouses about the MCA — that leaders were self-centred, that the party was subservient to Umno and that the party was marred by too many internal conflicts.
Indeed, the party’s polls in March were held amid internal strife which eventually led to a three-pronged tussle for the president’s chair among the incumbent Tee Keat, former president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting and Dr Chua.
When Dr Chua took on the presidency, he immediately moved to wipe up the milk spilled by his predecessors, which had inadvertently led to the party’s dismal performance in Election 2008.
In recent days, the outspoken leader was reported to have made several bold statements, seen by some as the MCA’s ploy to remove the perception of its subservience to Umno.
Yesterday, the outspoken leader boldly said the party would not hesitate to side with its political foe DAP, if it was for the general good of the public.
He even moved to discredit Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein for calling on the MCA to remember the BN’s struggles in its fight for the Chinese community, saying that “some BN leaders” would be the eventual cause of the MCA’s doom.
However, while voters were discontented with the MCA and Gerakan, a significant number still felt that both parties should remain in the BN in order to retain multi-ethnic representation in the government, according to the results of the survey.
They also felt that although the parties had failed to speak out in the interest of the Chinese community, they still wielded more power than the opposition.
Several voters in the more rural areas also believed that MCA elected representatives would still be helpful in solving local issues, particularly matters that involved government applications.
The poll also found that the Chinese voters’ grouses did not just end with the MCA and Gerakan.
Results showed that a mere 12 per cent of the community were satisfied with Umno while 55 per cent were dissatisfied.
According to the synopsis of the survey obtained by The Malaysian Insider, one-third of the respondents chose to refrain from answering the question, believed to be out of fear.
This could ultimately mean that the Chinese voters’ distrust of Umno could likely be stronger than what the 55 per cent suggested.
The focus group discussions found that the most common reasons for the lack of support in the ruling party were that Umno was “unfair” to the non-Malays, its party leaders were “high-handed” and “autocratic” and that they were “extreme” in their ethnic rhetoric and policies.
On a whole, the poll found that the Chinese electorate no longer believed in the BN’s feasibility as a sound coalition that represented the views of all Malaysians.
In fact, the poll found that only 15 per cent of Chinese voters were willing to place their trust in the BN to safeguard their interests.
They also believed that the BN’s power-sharing model of community representation via ethnic-based parties like Umno, the MCA, MIC and Gerakan was no longer effective.
A total of 55 per cent of the Chinese respondents polled agreed with this view. They even felt that multi-ethnic parties would be more effective in representing their interests in comparison with ethnic exclusive parties and expressed interest in seeing national leaders working to that effect.
Focus group participants revealed that this was because Umno was too domineering while its other counterparts in the coalition were merely junior partners and held little clout.
They also believed that MCA and MIC leaders cared more for their own welfare than that of the communities they represented.
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