In casting one's vote in an election, one cannot eat the cake and have it too

Since March 2008 many political analysts have tried to explain the massive Chinese swings towards the Opposition DAP  but some have also criticised the Chinese for the big swing which decimated the Gerakan and almost made the MCA an irrelevant Chinese Party, I would like to share these article with friends both written by Chinese Malaysians, I am not making any judgements of its of its contents, readers have to form their own opinions:

Reading the Chinese mindset by Joceline Tan

And,

Orang Cina Di Malaysia an article by Dr. Ridhuan Tee originally titled "Apakah kita maseh buta?"

Whatever it is the Chinese will never be short of representatives for making complaints and making demands they have the Dong Zong,  Hua Zong (7000 registered Clan, guild and business groups) besides having Six Chinese papers in the Semenanjung and Eight papers in Sabah and Sarawak) also the MCA and the DAP and perhaps Gerakan.


This is an interesting comment from DAH Ikhwan's blog:
excerpts: 

"His (MCA Chua Soi Lek) political strategy in facing the  DAP is simple but not without risk, just as his personality suggests. His message to the Chinese community is clear, ie. vote MCA or else you will not see any Chinese representation in the Cabinet. This set the Chinese mind into some kind of dilemma, akin to Dr. Mahathir’s ‘The Malay Dilemma’, though only on a lesser scale.

The Chinese community is really on the cross road now. They have gone through decades of frustration looking at MCA playing second fiddle to UMNO. But, isn’t this a reasonable position for a Chinese political party, given that they only form 30% (23.7% actually) of the Malaysian population. Is it fair for the Chinese to expect more than that, given that they already control almost every(most not all) sector of business in the country?

On the other hand, their action only demonstrates their natural instinct. Unlike the Malays and the Indians who tend to be more loyal to BN though emotional in nature, the Chinese  are a naturally calculative community of voters. Their votes go to the party that serves their interest best,  just as in doing business.

The Chinese community has been consistent  supporters of MCA since Merdeka except in the 1969 and the recent 2008 general election. The recent voting trend away from BN only happened in the face of a split in Malay votes, which for the first time presented a chance for a  Chinese based party to play a pivotal role in the Federal Government.

Such a strategy was attempted in Sarawak with the hope that their smaller Pakatan partners PKR and PAS would fare well  enough to topple the BN state government. But, alas it was not to be. The Malays/Melanaus  instinctively reacted decisively  to DAP’s challenge and the Dayak Bumiputera  communities stick to BN, the party they can trust and are comfortable with since independence.

With the national voting trend and results of popularity surveys now shifting toward Barisan Nasional, the pre-election warnings, my blog articles included, to the Chinese not to elect themselves out of the government has come true in Sarawak. There are now only two Chinese  BN representatives in  Sarawak DUN, thanks to the Malay and Dayak voters in their constituencies.

The Chinese has been used to the situation to keep the cake and eat it too. In this way they gained important positions in the Cabinet even by voting against BN,   and no amount of persuasion by PM seems to change their heart. It may not be too extreme to say that the Chinese only want to win and not willing to compromise willingly.

But Sarawak is only a state in the country. It is not a national problem to stay out of the government for a term. However, for the whole community to opt for the opposition  and to deliberately remain outside of the National Government may be viewed as a direct challenge to the Malay political dominance. We can only imagine where this will lead to and its long term impact in fermenting interracial prejudice and tension between the Chinese and the rest in the country." Source here.

It will soon be PRU13, for the ethnic Chinese it will be decision time, in this situation I can only say "Tepuk Dada Tanya Selera" and remember what Dr. Chua Soi Lek had said about the consequences not voting for the MCA. I don't think its a threat though, its a reality that one will have to face if they turn the other cheek on the MCA.

posted in Chittagong, Bangladesh