'Yes man' MCA, MIC no longer relevant but DAP shouldn't be too confident either, say analysts

SHAH ALAM - MCA and MIC are not taken seriously by their communities as the two political parties failed to speak out on the interests and needs of their communities, according to an expert.

Political analyst Datuk Prof Dr Jayum Anak Jawan said MCA and MIC were seen more of a 'yes men' to Umno within Barisan Nasional (BN).

"The fall of MCA and MIC as the vanguard of Chinese and Indian communities took place after the collapse of the BN coalition as a whole when Malays abandoned Umno in 2018, that led to the collpase of BN coalition.

"MCA and MIC are now playing a reverse role once played by their opponent, DAP.

"But MCA and MIC have now been abandoned by their respective communities, main political support among the Chinese community is now with DAP," he said to Sinar Daily.

Similarly, Jayum said MIC is now the skeletal of its former self during the heydeys of BN.

Howver, there are also a perception that the Chinese community feels that DAP is turning into MCA 2.0.

"Many Chinese who supported DAP are starting to feel that the party is not doing enough to champion the interest of Chinese now that they are part of the federal government.

"These were issues that they once fought for while in the opposition and which formed the basic of drawing support from the community.

"All is not lost in Madani and Unity Government seeking to draw ethnic support in the country. Support will pour into them if what they promise are delivered," he added.

Commenting further, Pacific Research Center principal adviser Oh Ei Sun said MCA, MIC will still be a relevant as long as there are party assets.

"They will remain relevant until their party assets dissipate," he said.