SHAH ALAM: Selangor Umno has distanced itself from the statement made by Khairy Jamaluddin, who had suggested that MCA can leave Barisan Nasional (BN) if the Chinese-based party no longer wishes to be with the coalition.
Selangor Umno liaison committee deputy chairman Datuk Mat Nadzari Ahmad Dahlan said the former Umno Youth chief made the comments on his personal capacity and it was neither the party nor BN’s official stance.
“It is best that we refrain from making statements that would jeopardise the relationship of Umno and our partners. Let’s not hurt the feelings of our friends.
“What Khairy said against MCA does not represent us. It was his own opinion,” Nadzari told the New Straits Times Press.
Nadzari stressed on the importance of Umno and MCA maintaining a cordial political relationship as both component parties have come a long way together under the BN umbrella.
He added that BN still needs MCA as one of their partners in the coalition and the act of making harsh comments against one another should not happen.
“I think we should leave this matter to the top leadership to discuss internally. Umno and MCA have been together for so long and yes, we do have differences in our approaches. But instead of squabbling, it is better to sit down and discuss and consolidate,” said Nadzari.
Khairy, who is also Rembau member of parliament, had mooted a suggestion for BN to cooperate with new component parties in regaining support from the Chinese community.
Khairy said this was because MCA appeared to have lost their touch in regaining Chinese support for BN since after the 12th general election in 2008. He had said that MCA’s appeared to show a lack of interest in continuing to be part of the coalition.
He also attributed his call to MCA’s unrealistic requests from Umno, including the matter of cooperation with Pas.
Khairy was quoted as saying that, “If MCA is no longer interested in us, thank you, we will find others.”
Khairy’s comments came following a statement made by Kluang MCA division chief Gan Ping Sieu, who had said that leaving BN should be an option for MCA as a mark of protest towards the cooperation between Umno and Pas since the Sungai Kandis by-election.
