KUALA LUMPUR, May 11 — MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said today he will not stand for re-election as the party president.
Liow, who also failed to defend his Bentong parliamentary seat in the 14th general election, added that he accepts full responsibility for the Barisan Nasional (BN) Chinese party’s humiliating loss on May 9.
“As a responsible leader, I would like to announce that I will not be seeking re-election as party president because I have to ensure the stability and unity of the party.
“I will ensure a smooth transition of power to the newly elected president and I will step down following that process,” he told a news conference at Wisma MCA here after chairing the party’s central committee meeting.
MCA saw its representation in Parliament pared down to just one seat — Ayer Hitam in Johor — while its representation in state assemblies totalled only two seats.
Liow attributed MCA’s defeat to new ruling pact Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) promise to dismantle the controversial Good and Services Tax (GST) and three-cornered fights that reduced its chances of victory.
“There were many three-cornered fights. PAS used Act 355 to their advantage and pulled many Malay votes away from MCA,” he said, referring to the Islamist party’s push to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.
Critics of the law have repeatedly asserted that Act 355, if amended, will allow states like Kelantan and Terengganu — both won by PAS in the May 9 polls — to implement hudud laws.
Liow also noted that the party failed to win back support from the ethnic community it claims to champion.
“We are also sad that the Chinese did not return to support us,” he said.
Liow added that MCA will scrutinise its performance post-election and brainstorm ways to improve the party.
Asked if it would engage an external analyst to determine the cause of defeat, Liow said the party knows its own people best.
“No expert is needed for the post-mortem, we are the experts, and we know what we want,” he said.
Liow stressed that moving forward, shoring up grassroots support will be one of the party’s priorities in order to regain traction and support among voters.
He congratulated PH chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on being appointed prime minister again, adding that BN as the new Opposition will do its best to keep the new government in check.
