There is a saying: “If an official can’t act on behalf of people, he might as well plant sweet potato back home!” This is how common folks assess government officials. In the eyes of general public, if a government official can’t fight for the interest of the people, solve people’s problems, he may as well quit and return home. He should not be wasting resources of the country and the society.

In Confucian Analects by Confucius, it is stated: “He who is not in a particular office has nothing to do with plans for administration of its duties”. It can also be said that if you are in the position, do your job well. If you can’t, might as well leave your position instead of being useless.

MCA central delegates held an extraordinary general meeting to seek a fresh mandate from central delegates in order to re-join the Cabinet. Based on the votes, most central delegates support the decision of returning to Cabinet as well as accept government positions of all levels.

The outcome of the EGM has reversed the decision made in year 2011 and 2012. The decision then was that if the MCA’s election result in 13th General Election turnout to be worse than the 12th General Election, MPs from MCA would not be joining the Cabinet as ministers. At the same time, MCA will not accept any government positions. This is to respect the choice of Chinese voters. On the other hand, the original resolution of not joining Cabinet has also taken into consideration that becoming ministers without strong mandate from Chinese voters would mean weak representation. This lacks basis for public representation.

This is the promise of MCA prior to General Election. It can be seen as “challenge” given to voters. However, with the change of leadership in MCA, the issue of joining Cabinet crops up again with calls made to reconsider the earlier decision. The EGM was called to seek a fresh mandate on the issue. Funny thing is, all central delegates seem to be very “forgetful”. They have forgotten about the initial decision of not joining Cabinet. They do not touch on the promise given to Chinese voters as if such promise does not exist.

This relates to the integrity of the party. Party leaders and central delegates do not see this point. It is hard for us to imagine how this party is going to gain trust from the people.

MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said once MCA returns to the Cabinet, it wants to have authority and power at the same time. Generally leaders of Chinese organisations and business groups also hope that MCA would have both. Chinese community leaders agree with MCA returning to the Cabinet and hope MCA leaders would be able to put aside personal interest and go all out on protecting the interest of the Chinese community.

Associated Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia president Datuk Lim Kok Cheong points out that power should come with position. One should be brave to use the power to handle issues. Then it would be significant to hold government position.

Hence, the crux of the issue lies with whether MCA would be having both position and power if it joins the Cabinet. Would the MCA be able to effectively serve the Chinese community, to safeguard Chinese interests in various sectors in politics, education, economy, culture and others? If the MCA is unable to fight for more in the Cabinet like it used to be, then it would be insignificant to be at the helm of the government. We hope MCA leadership would be able to play its role in an effective manner after returning to the Cabinet. Having both authority and power, start afresh, rebrand image to defend Chinese community and fight for more. This, in return, will see Chinese voters return to Barisan Nasional.

(Nanyang Siang Pau, Editorial, 26-02-2014)

Original Source: 南洋社论：希望马华当家又当权