MCA, GERAKAN PARTY CONVENTIONS CRITICIZE UMNO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUALA LUMPUR 000944

SIPDIS

FOR EAP/MTS AND INR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/24/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM MY
SUBJECT: MCA, GERAKAN PARTY CONVENTIONS CRITICIZE UMNO

REF: KUALA LUMPUR 787 -- UMNO AND ITS COALITION IN
DISARRAY

Classified By: Political Counselor Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 b and
d.

Summary and Comment
--------------


1. (C) The recent conventions of the Malaysian Chinese
Association (MCA) and the Malaysian People's Movement
(Gerakan),two Chinese-based component parties of the ruling
National Front (BN),featured open criticism of the United
Malays National Organization's (UMNO) domineering role in the
coalition. In the respective party elections, Ong Tee Keat
emerged as MCA President and Koh Tsu Koon became Gerakan
President unopposed. Association with BN status quo
arrangements played into the defeat of frontrunner Ong Ka
Chuan who sought the MCA Deputy President post. For other
senior positions, MCA and Gerakan largely elected a new slate
of officials who face the challenge of reviving the parties
after their dismal performance in the March elections. Prime
Minister Abdullah denied UMNO "bullying" within BN, while
UMNO influenced media took the minority-based parties to
task, doing little to assuage MCA and Gerakan concerns. As
these developments illustrate, the ruling BN coalition
remains seriously frayed along ethnic lines. End Summary and
Comment.

MCA and Gerakan: New Crop of Leaders
--------------


2. (C) The Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA),the second
senior coalition partner in the governing National Front (BN)
coalition, held its convention and party election on October
18-19. Incumbent President Ong Ka Ting did not seek
reelection and the top post was contested by Transport
Minister and incumbent Vice President Ong Tee Keat and former
Vice President and party veteran Chua Jui Meng. As widely
anticipated, Ong defeated Chua, in the end obtaining 60% of
votes from 2,378 MCA delegates. However, the Deputy
President race produced an upset. Ong Ka Chuan, MCA's
Secretary General and the brother of the outgoing MCA
President, ran against former Health Minister and MCA Vice
President Chua Soi Lek. Ong was the frontrunner for the post
because of his family ties and because Chua had been damaged
by a sex scandal, which had forced his resignation from the
Cabinet in January 2008. Nevertheless, delegates chose Chua
over Ong for Deputy President by a narrow margin of 115
votes. Fui K. Song, MCA's think tank chief, commented to us
that Ong's loss was due to his image as a staunch BN loyalist
and his constant reiteration that MCA will not abandon BN, a
message that went against MCA members' expressed unhappiness
with UMNO's domination of the coalition (see below).


3. (U) For the four Vice President posts, the party
delegates largely abandoned incumbents and elected party
leaders with positions in the Cabinet including Health
Minister Liow Tiong Lai and Women, Family and Community
Development Minister Ng Yen Yen. The same trend played out
for the 25 seat central committee positions, for which only 9
incumbents were retained. To reflect the defeat of Ong Ka
Chuan, who is the Housing and Local Government Minister, and
three deputy ministers, changes in the party line-up could
result in a minor Cabinet reshuffle, a possibility
acknowledged by Prime Minister Abdullah on October 24.


4. (SBU) Another BN component party, the Malaysian Peoples
Movement (Gerakan),a non-racial party dominated by ethnic
Chinese, also voted for some change during the party's
October 11 election. This followed Gerakan's dismal showing
in the March election. Party acting president and former
Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon was returned unopposed.
Koh has been the acting President of the party since April
2007 following the retirement of then party president Lim
Keng Yaik. The party's Perak Chief and former vice President
Chang Ko Youn won the Deputy President post, while the three
vice presidents posts went to the party's former Youth chief
Mah Siew Keong, former Penang Youth chief Huang Cheng Guan,
and incumbent vice president Senator Dr. S. Vijayaratnam.
Delegates also voted in 15 new faces in the 18-member central
committee.

Parties Criticize UMNO Dominance
--------------


5. (SBU) Both the MCA and Gerakan conventions featured open

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criticism of UMNO's domineering role in the governing
coalition. Although delegates at the October 18-19 MCA
convention did not urge party leaders to consider pulling out
of the BN coalition, they also did not hide their frustration
and anger over UMNO's arrogance and "bullying" within BN.
Some MCA delegates proposed that the party leadership adopt
the motto "dare to be angry, dare to speak up and dare to
act" as their motto in order to rebrand the party in the hope
of regaining the peoples' confidence.


6. (SBU) Outgoing MCA President Ong Ka Ting in his farewell
address took responsibility for MCA's loss in the March 8
general election, where the party only won 15 out of 40
parliamentary seats and 31 of 90 state seats contested,
compared with 31 parliamentary seats and 76 state seats in
the 2004 polls. Casting blame on UMNO, Ong Ka Ting stated
candidly that "UMNO is seen as far too dominant over the
other component parties." He added that the BN's
power-sharing concept is often seen as only paying lip
service to UMNO's junior partners. MCA think tank chief Fui

K. Song told poloffs on October 20 that the MCA President was
highlighting the status quo practice: the UMNO Supreme
Council debates and makes decisions on all major policies,
and afterward the BN component parties are expected to rubber
stamp the decisions. She added in the post-March 2008
general election scenario, the BN component parties are
"demanding the rewriting of rules for the respective parties
to remain relevant."


7. (SBU) Heated criticism of UMNO also took center stage at
Gerakan's convention, in which delegates wanted party leaders
to review the party's role within the BN if UMNO refuses to
reform. Party delegates blamed UMNO's arrogance toward its
coalition partners for the loss of substantial non-Malay
support during the March 2008 general election. Gerakan bore
the brunt of the desertion of non-Malay voters as the party
not only lost Penang state, its crown jewel (since 1969),but
its political representation was reduced to only two
parliamentary and four state seats, compared with 10
parliamentary and 30 state seats in the 2004 general
election.


8. (SBU) During the debates at the Gerakan convention, party
delegates called for BN and the party "to fight for all
Malaysians," "reject third class leaders who divide and
rule," "acknowledge BN's weaknesses," and "free the party
from being manipulated by UMNO leaders and warlords." Party
President Koh Tsu Koon stressed that party leaders will not
be "yes-men" anymore and would remain in the coalition "as
long as we have a meaningful role." Party veteran leader Ng
Lip Yong told poloffs that it would be unwise for Gerakan to
leave the coalition now as UMNO would interpret it as "non
Malays ganging up against the Malays." However, the party is
now expected to more aggressively challenge the status quo
and push for reforms which party leaders believe "the public
will receive positively."

PM Abdullah Attempts to Counter MCA, Gerakan Concerns
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) BN Chairman and Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi,
speaking at the MCA convention, attempted to counter MCA
criticisms, stating that that "there is no such thing as
bullying by UMNO." The PM blamed opposition parties for
creating the perception that UMNO is a bully in the
coalition. Outside the convention, other UMNO leaders backed
Abdullah and dismissed the MCA frustrations, accusing BN
component leaders of being "weak" and "afraid of raising
issues" at BN meetings.


10. (SBU) The UMNO-dominated daily New Straits Times poured
salt into the wounds in an October 20 editorial, pointing out
that "equal footing has not been the principle that governs
relations among BN component parties," and calling on MCA "to
look beyond the narrow confines of Chinese interests."
Commenting on the responses by the UMNO President and other
party leaders, political analyst Khoo Kay Peng, a former
Gerakan think tank chief, told poloffs that "UMNO's bullying
is so institutionalized" that UMNO leaders do not realize
their own domineering position in the coalition.
KEITH