KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 ― MCA must remain part of the government to prevent the country from falling into racial and religious extremism, its president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.

In an interview with Malay Mail, Liow said it has always been the Barisan Nasional (BN) Chinese component party’s duty and responsibility to protect multiracialism and inclusiveness in the country.

"So that is why we have moderate government policies, which ensures the country does not go down the drain of racist and religious extremism,” Liow said.

"This is our positive strength which we have worked hard for all this while, to ensure the government has moderate policies to keep all of us from sliding down the slippery slope.

"Running up to the 14th general election, I think our campaign message is clear enough -- the Chinese community’s political strength has resulted in us participating in the government and nation-building. And [this] should continue,” he added.

MCA has tried speaking up for minority groups, but the BN government has sometimes gone ahead with decisions perceived not to be in the interest of minorities, such as dropping a key clause from an amendment to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act that would have explicitly outlawed the unilateral conversion of children to Islam.  

MCA won only seven parliament and 11 state seats in the 13th general election, while another Chinese-dominant BN party, Gerakan, bagged just one federal seat. Their main rival DAP swept 38 parliament seats. 

Liow refused to tell Malay Mail how many seats MCA expected to win in the upcoming 14th general election, but expressed confidence that his party could win more than the seven seats it secured in Election 2013.

"Since that time, we have refocused our community services while strengthening the party on all levels, be it from branches to division.

"The party’s structure has been reformed where central delegates alone no longer elect the president and central committee. This has given us a more grounded standing, enabling us to work more closely with grassroots and feeling the pulse of the people,” he said.

Prior to November 2016, MCA’s central committee was elected by 2,400 central delegates. An amendment to the party constitution expanded the electoral process to division delegates, enlarging the process to almost 33,000 members.

Liow also expressed satisfaction with MCA’s efforts in targeting voters below 40.

"We are happy at engaging more of them now, and we will continue to do so by trying to understand their needs and wants. Their support makes all the difference in the world, as our older voting base has always been able to understand and support our policies,” he said.

As for challenges, Liow foresaw Johor becoming a hotly-contested battleground in MCA’s struggle with its avowed arch-rival DAP to win hearts and minds. MCA currently holds the seats of Ayer Hitam, Labis, Tanjong Piai, and Tebrau in the state.

"We will have to defend our existing gains as much as possible, despite the regrettable conduct of DAP in claiming to replace MCA by eliminating us. Such shocking arrogance is really uncalled for and shows no respect to the ‘rakyat’ as a democratic society and country,” he said.