JULY 25 — As the MCA party election begins to heat up, the suggestion of merging the MCA, Gerakan and the SUPP has again been brought up.
For the three parties, however, the top priority now is their party elections to be held at the end of this year. The merger talk is possible only after their respective party elections are held.
Regardless of the party election results, what can be predicted is the proposed merger is complicated and definitely not as simple as “not a bad suggestion if it makes them stronger”, as former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.
Undeniably, the key lies on the stand and attitude of the MCA. Not like Gerakan and the SUPP, the MCA is a racial party. Although being labelled as Chinese-based parties, Gerakan and the SUPP are actually pursuing the multiracial route and their members could be from any racial groups. The MCA, however, is a party claiming itself a representative of the Chinese, and all its members are Chinese.
In other words, if the three parties really wish to merge, the first question that must be addressed is, should the new party be a single-race party or a multiracial party?
Under the current political situation, it is quite impossible for Gerakan and the SUPP to change into single-race parties as it is a backsliding move. The grassroots might not accept it and voters would not agree with it.
If Gerakan and the SUPP insist on maintaining their multiracial feature, it means that the MCA must abandon its single-race line which has been upheld for more than half a century to enable the merger to happen. However, the historical step requires not only recognition from party leaders, but according to the party constitution, a central committee meeting must be convened to adopt the motion.
Obviously, it is not going to be a simple task to convince the grassroots. The wishes of majority party leaders are not necessarily in line with the wishes of majority grassroots. If the party merges with Gerakan and the SUPP without an approval from the grassroots, it might lead to the loss of grassroots. As a result, instead of forming a stronger new party, the merger might cause the walkout of party members.
In fact, it might be more appropriate to merge Gerakan and the SUPP instead of merging the MCA, Gerakan and the SUPP. Both Gerakan and the SUPP are multiracial parties with the experience of being the opposition. They share same view and stand on many issues and they have actually studied the possibility of merging earlier. However, no further action has been taken so far. It reflected that it is indeed not easy to merge as it involves not only the question of ideology, but also other questions like interest distribution, as well as complicated power and authority arrangements.
In the face of the new political landscape, the MCA, Gerakan and the SUPP seem unable to adapt themselves well. Merger might enable them to adjust themselves and survive longer. However, if the merger is limited only to the surface but nothing more than that is changed, or as MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong said, the new party might end up in three factions, then how can the merger actually help? And what is its significance to the people and the country? — mysinchew.com
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.
