DAP upbeat over another ‘No to BN’ incident
| February 26, 2013
Based on the cold response received
by MCA's Dr Ng Yen Yen, Malacca DAP is hoping to deny BN a two-third majority
in the state.
PETALING JAYA: The large crowd which
gathered at the Malacca-level Chap Goh Meh celebrations repeatedly shouted
“No!” when asked to vote for Barisan Nasional in the coming election, much to
the delight of DAP.
The opposition party told FMT that
the strong anti-establishment mood was an indication that Pakatan Rakyat could
win more seats to deny BN’s two-third majority in the Malacca state assembly.
However, MCA begged to differ.
The “No!” incident took place at
popular tourist spot Jonker Street on Sunday when Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen
Yen boasted about BN’s performance in her speech.
She told the crowd that a larger
Chap Goh Meh celebration would be held should the BN government retain power in
the coming general election, and asked them to say “Yes” in reply.
But she was met with a hostile
response, as the crowd shouted: “No! No! No!”.
The MCA vice-president then told the
crowd “to wake up TO the stark reality and say yes” but the chant of “No! No!
No!” grew louder this time.
Not giving up, Ng tried to convince
the crowd by citing Pakatan’s shortcomings such as the PAS-led Kelantan
government’s ban on Valentine’s Day and lottery tickets but the crowd still
shouted “No! No! No!”.
The irritated minister then
retorted: “Those who say ‘no’, ask the Jonker street hawkers how much they earn
everyday? Don’t pawn the Malacca tourism for the sake of politics!”
The embarrassing episode ended with
Ng concluding her speech a short while later.
Commenting on the incident, DAP’s
Kota Melaka parliamentarian Sim Tong Him said Ng’s arrogant attitude and the
crowd’s response reflected the ground sentiments towards BN.
“It is a known fact that urban folks
are not going to support BN. Even if you ask an old man in a coffee shop, he
would say he is not going vote for them,” he added.
MCA losing ground
He claimed that the anti-establishment mood had grown stronger since 2008 especially among the Chinese and Malay voters.
MCA losing ground
He claimed that the anti-establishment mood had grown stronger since 2008 especially among the Chinese and Malay voters.
The opposition through DAP won one
parliamentary seat and five state seats in the last general election.
Malacca has five parliamentary seats
and 28 state seats. The Chinese majority seats are the Bandar Melaka
parliamentary seat and Bandar Hilir, Kesidang, Kota Laksamana and Ayer Keroh
state seats.
“MCA didn’t manage to recover their
lost ground due to their infighting between the Dr Chua Soi Lek faction and Ong
Tee Keat faction.
“Now only Chua’s men such as (state
deputy chief) Seet Har Cheow and (state secretary) Koo Nai Kwang are still
working,” he said, adding that Ong’s supporter, former Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai
Chee, had been idle in the state.
With firm Chinese backing and
increasing support from rural Malay voters, Sim said hopes were high that they
could deny the BN’s two-third majority in the coming GE.
“Voters in the outskirt areas used
to vote BN. But recently we held a lot of events in the areas and the response
and turnout was very encouraging.
“Last time before 2008 when I went
to the pasar malam in rural areas, many Malays refused to shake my hand. Even
when we distributed the The Rocket newspaper to them, they would throw it away
after a while.
“But now they would come themselves
to ask for the paper, they would gather around me to talk to me after a ceramah
session,” he said.
Interestingly, Malacca Wanita MCA
chief Kian Sit Har last year broke ranks with the party to join the mammoth
Bersih 3.0 rally for clean and fair elections. Her surprise move might in some
way reflect what the grassroots were thinking.
‘No infighting in MCA’
However, state MCA chief Gan Tian
Loo who attended the Chap Goh Meh function claimed that he was not aware about
the booing incident on stage.
He said the people had in fact
supported BN because the state and federal governments had done a lot for them.
“We have done many things to boost
the tourism industry, this creates job opportunities especially for the hawkers
and hotel operators. I don’t think we are getting any problem,” he said.
Gan opined that MCA could even wrest
back the six DAP-held seats.
He also denied there was a
infighting in MCA, pointing out that the state leadership had been praised by
the party president to be the most united one. - FMT
