KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 8 — The fresh leadership crisis within MCA is indicative of its inability to achieve the paradigm shift necessary to stem its continued decline in the eyes of the Chinese community the party purports to represent, according to political observers.

Still haunted by the devastating results of Elections 2008 and 2013, the party now appears trapped in a cycle of blame as it struggles to confront the root cause of its abandonment by the very section of Malaysia that is supposed to be the core of its support.

According to Professor Shaharuddin Badaruddin of Universiti Selangor, the returning unrest may also be the fallout from the political controversies surrounding Umno, the lynchpin of Barisan Nasional (BN) in which MCA is a senior component.

“So, for instance, if anything happens to Liow Tiong Lai, the president of MCA, I don’t think that it’ll change the image of MCA, not because there’s an issue of leadership but because trend of Chinese voting for the party has gone down,” he said in a phone interview with Malay Mail Online.

He said that issues such as the long-drawn controversy over 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and the RM2.6 billion deposited in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s accounts were now beginning to bear consequences with Umno’s partners.

But the foundation of MCA’s fresh troubles were laid long before the current storm over 1MDB, and traced back to a sex scandal involving former president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek in 2008.

Although the scandal cost Dr Chua his positions then as health minister and MCA vice presidency, it did not mark the end of his political career.

Instead, Dr Chua staged two comebacks — the second of which after he was expelled following his first comeback victory in the deputy presidency race — that were preceded by extended periods of infighting from which MCA has never fully recovered.

Matters were compounded by the near total abandonment of MCA by the Chinese community, although the party has not helped its standing with its continued internal strife at a time when it is struggling to remain relevant.

Former president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek staged two comebacks that were preceded by extended periods of infighting from which MCA has never fully recovered. — File pic

Shaharuddin added that another change in leadership within MCA will do little to reverse its rot, which he said was a result of the party being vicariously punished for the problems with Umno, which is also facing its own internal issues.

Independent political analyst Khoo Kay Peng added that MCA, which has been around since before Malaysia’s independence, must reinvent itself or face the prospect of becoming insignificant.

Both a founding member and senior party in BN, MCA was decimated in Election 2008 when it won just 15 parliamentary and 40 state seats.

It fared worse in Election 2013, dropping to just seven federal and 11 state seats, due in large part to its inability to win back the confidence of the ethnic Chinese.

“Remaining in the status quo will result in a continued downward trend. Whether we like it or not, it’s a pre-independence party created to suit the political situation at the time.

“MCA has to evolve it cannot stay as it was back then and still hope to be viable and legitimate,” Khoo said in a phone interview with Malay Mail Online.

Khoo also said that the party may need to take the drastic step of exiting BN to completely distance itself from Umno — to which it is seen as subservient — if it is to have any hope of reversing the slide in support.

“They would need a lot of resources and to find enough candidates but if they’re smart enough and look at niche areas they can effective in, then they can focus on that.

“They could look that being a third voice that’s not part of Pakatan Harapan or BN. They also have to look at their political script, what is their message to the people? They have to define their relevance,” he added.

Director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania James Chin said, however, that MCA could never afford to leave BN due to its long-standing and co-dependent relationship with the coalition.

He further predicted that MCA was headed for an inevitable demise as it remain trapped by its need to appeal to the Chinese community that has unequivocally withdrawn its support for the ruling BN.

“It will never leave BN. No space in opposition since it has been taken over by DAP and PKR. Also the MCA structure means it cannot survive outside BN,” he said in an email to Malay Mail Online, adding that the faith of the party was entirely in the hands of the ruling coalition.

Malay Mail reported last week that there is now an attempt to unseat current MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Liow Tiong Lai and to call for a vote of no confidence in a bid to “to return the confidence of the people in MCA”.