MCA in need of a leadership refresh - Political analysts

SHAH ALAM - MCA needs a leadership refresh as it is now a skeleton of its former self.

Universiti Putra Malaysia political analyst Datuk Prof Dr Jayum Anak Jawan said MCA is now on the brink of extinction.

"MCA is the oldest chinese political party in the Peninsula. It was the stongest party to represent the Chinese, but it started its decline in the 2000s when a surge of Chinese support shifted to DAP.

"Since the early 2000s, it was a skeleton of it former self, when a majority of the electrorate had shifted to DAP," he told Sinar Daily.

However just because DAP is the main dominant partner of the Unity Government, Jayum said MCA's political worldview is not entirely outdated.

He added that this is the time for the party to find new leaders.

"Wee Ka Siong (President of MCA) is perhaps not the man to lead MCA in the party’s efforts toward rejuvenation and courting back the Chinese support from DAP.

"This is not an easy exercise knowing well that in Malaysia, leaders once installed tend to remain until they are incapacited," he elaborated

Meanwhile political analyst Professor Ismail Sualman said if MCA is looking at rejuvenating its party it needs to appoint a new leader for the party to survive.

"If MCA wants to survive and stay relevant for the chinese community, I think they must rejuvenate, refresh and look for new leaders

"Maybe they can look for young leaders to stay relevant," he said

Ismail added that MCA should adopt a new strategy instead of following the strategy of the coalition that it is a part of.

"Eventually all MCA seats are dependent on the other coalition members especially Umno and MIC.

MCA must look into new faces, new fresh and talented leaders who can gain votes," he said

Commenting further, National Professors Council Senior Fellow Professor Dr Jeniri Amir said MCA needed to focus on how to win the mind and hearts of the chinese community.

"For so long, MCA has been involved in helping the community, especially the marginalised, the poor in terms of economy, education and social issues

"They need to restrategise for the party to go back to its former glory, and work on how can they convince the people to support MCA for the next election," he said.