Press Digest - MCA needs more support from all races

PETALING JAYA: Hinting that the 14th general election is near, MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon says what the party needs is not more members but more support from all races.
He said he is not worried about the party being leaner.
“We hold divisional meetings every month and each time, we find people asking to join as members,” Chong was quoted as saying in a report in Oriental Daily News yesterday.
However, he said, compared with getting more members, it is more important to garner the support of more voters.
“What MCA needs to do now is to regain the support of the Chinese votes. Of course, we do not forget that we cannot win with the support of Chinese voters alone. We also need the support of Malays, Indians and other ethnic groups.”
He agreed that DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had done pretty well in garnering Chinese votes in the past but believed it is a different scenario now.
Chong expressed confidence the party is gaining the support of the majority of the Chinese voters.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference at Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur to announce the Mid Autumn Festival celebration organised by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia students, he said he could feel the shift in Chinese support during his meeting with the people.
On the party’s staggered announcements of its candidates for GE14, he said they are a hint that not only the general election is near but also that the party is prepared for it.
On the recent “historic handshake” between former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PKR de facto chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Chong said it proved that their actions were based on their own political interests.
“I pity their respective supporters, who have all these years been rallying behind them and attacking the rival leader,” he said, adding it was a huge blow and humiliation to their respective supporters.