Chinese Votes In Mahkota

Of late, I’ve been reading and hearing too much noise about the Chinese being reluctant to vote BN in the Mahkota by-election this weekend.

This noise primarily comes from the DAP, who is using a recent issue regarding an UMNO leader’s reaction to a statement by a DAP MP. Emphasis is on the word, “reaction”.

UMNO is used to being blamed by the Chinese party representatives in the coalition especially during election time. Perhaps, this may serve as leverage, political extortion or an excuse for their foreseeable failures in the election. I’ll leave it to the esteemed political observers to decide which if any.

Today, it’s DAP. Then, it was MCA that played the blame game for their failure to win the Chinese votes. We’re immune to it. 

DAP is demanding for an apology from the UMNO Youth Chief for his reaction to their MP’s statement. 

Would the Chinese voters be happy and/ or forgiving after the apology is made? Not by a long shot if history is anything to go by. It’s like déjà vu.

In 2008, a former UMNO Youth Chief was asked to apologise for unsheathing the Keris in an UMNO Assembly. He duly obliged and apologised profusely but the Chinese kept on harping on the issue for years after that using it as a tool on UMNO’s conscience. 

So I dare say that the same will occur in this instance. Even if an apology is given, the stats will remain the same among the Chinese voters in Mahkota. It is up to the DAP to convince them to look at the bigger picture, much like how UMNO managed to sway the Malays when it was a DAP candidate on the ballot.

The alternative to BN is PN. They must remember that Umno saved the unity government, giving DAP and the Chinese community a share of power in government when UMNO could have gone the other way and still play second fiddle in the other government leaving them out in the cold.

UMNO has made a strong and positive gesture by choosing a Mandarin speaking candidate to help serve and communicate with the community better. 

It is a dangerous wish for the Chinese community to vote PN to punish BN. It will be etched in the UMNO memory bank for the remainder of this government’s term.

If their voters are adamant in the punishment, perhaps in the next GE, BN/PN will make their wish come true, if an all Malay government (barring two seats) comes in like the administration in 2020. 

Was Life Better For Their Community Then?

Reflect On It.