MCA hits back at Nazri, saying he's "too arrogant"

After being labelled "no longer relevant" by Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz Sunday, MCA hit back saying the Tourism and Culture Minister was being "too arrogant" for making such a remark.

Mohamed Nazri made the remark after being criticised by MCA's youth wing for supporting a Penang government plan to ban foreign cooks in street food stalls.

MCA Youth Chief, Chong Sin Woon said rebutting a criticism by referring MCA as "irrelevant" was too arrogant and uncalled for.

"Firstly, Nazri as a minister is subjected to comments and criticism from anybody. Yes, we admit that MCA lost (in the 13th General Election) but we never gave up," he said when contacted by Astro AWANI.

He said the party has been working hard to regain the support from the Chinese and Malaysians, and that Nazri shouldn't have said that as one day he too might need MCA's help.

Referring to Nazri's support towards the Penang government's plan, Wong said Nazri should investigate what Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng said before blindly agreeing to the suggestion.

"Not that we support foreigners being cooks in Penang street food, but (Nazri) should understand the issue first," Wong stressed.

MCA central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker also lashed out at Nazri, reminding him to be more mindful of his words.

"Nazri is entitled to his opinion but as a good leader he should exercise restraint and listen to opposing views," he said, adding that Nazri's words this time had hit below the belt.

Urging Nazri to show some class, Ti said it is not befitting and uncalled for that a senior Minister reacted in such a manner towards a component party member when they are down.

"Umno too had its downside during the Reformasi period in 1999 and when the party was declared illegal, but MCA did not insult Umno. Instead we stood by them in supporting a fellow partner," he told Astro AWANI.

Commenting about MCA, he said the party is still relevant and currently going through some changes to suit the need of the Chinese voters.

Meanwhile, Bangsar MCA Youth Chief Chris Wong echoed Chong and Ti's opinion, saying that Nazri had failed to show the true spirit friendship by labelling MCA that way.

"There are good times and bad times. That sort of statement shouldn't be made by a senior Minister," he said.

He said such 'political games' are often practiced by the Opposition especially during the recent 'Menteri Besar issue' in Selangor where DAP had criticised PAS for not submitting to PKR's appointment for a new MB.

"We look at what happened in 1999 and when Umno was facing a crisis, MCA played a role in stabilizing Barisan Nasional (BN). At that time, former MCA President Tun Dr Ling Leong Sik became the interim chairman for BN," Wong explained.

He said recently MCA has been showing good signs of improvement especially in the recent by-elections where in Kajang, despite losing the election, it managed to reduce the majority obtained by PKR during GE13.

Wong said MCA had also played a big role in helping Gerakan to win the Teluk Intan by-election.

"If we look at Teluk Intan, we can see there is a swing among Chinese voters towards BN. From that, we are able to regain their trust. Without MCA, Datuk Mah Siew Keong couldn't have won," he added.

Nazri’s support for the Penang government's plan to ban foreigners from being hired as Penang street food cooks has brought criticism from the MCA.

Its Youth wing secretary-general Leong Kim Soon said Nazri's endorsement gave the impression that the Federal Government was agreeable with the idea, and said the issue was about labour shortage and not just about foreign cooks.

However, in a report from The Malaysian Insider today, Nazri had dismissed MCA's criticism, stressing that the party and its views had become irrelevant after the GE13.

In the last general election, MCA had only won seven parliamentary seats out of 37 and 11 state seats out of 90 it contested.

The results were worse for MCA compared to the 2008 general election, where it won 15 parliamentary seats out of 40 and 32 state seats out of 90 it contested.