KOTA KINABALU:
Chinese voters in the State have been urged to ensure victory for all the Barisan Nasional (BN) Chinese candidates in the coming general election, so as to preserve and consolidate the Chinese community’s position and representation in the Government. Sabah MCA chairman Datuk Edward Khoo made the call when speaking at the Chinese New Year gathering organized by the six west coast MCA liaison committees here on Tuesday. He stressed that as a Chinese based BN component party, MCA Sabah is duty bound to ensure victory for the other Chinese counterparts like Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP), Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) which have Chinese candidates. “We shall strive to maintain the status quo of the Chinese’s representation in the Government,” he proclaimed. Khoo who is also the incumbent Kepayan assemblyman, also reminisced the long struggle of MCA in the last 68 years in Peninsular Malaysia and 17 years in Sabah, especially the scarification and steadfast commitment of its members in carrying out the party’s struggles and to serve the community, despite having yet to secure any position in the State Government. “Today MCA Sabah has established 25 divisions throughout the State and is one of the most organized Chinese-based parties. Our members are also steadily increasing every year and our struggles and position are also well recognized by the Chinese community of Sabah,” he pointed out. While noting that it was the aspiration of the Sabah MCA members to see the party getting a chance to better serve the community, the State and the country as a whole, he called on them to continue to work harder to win the support and participation of the Chinese community in its struggles. “Presently, Sabah MCA only has one seat and it didn’t come easily. Hence, we should all work together and wholeheartedly to ensure another victory in the coming general election,” he stressed. Meanwhile, during his speech earlier, MCA Sabah deputy chairman Senator Datuk Robert Chew also called on all its members to better inform their friends and relatives on MCA’s contributions towards the Chinese community and to convince them to vote for its candidates. Chew who is also the organising chairman for the event, was convinced that Khoo will be again fielded to defend his Kepayan state Seat in the coming general election. He thus urged its members ,to go all out to ensure a major victory for Khoo and the party, stressing that MCA’s victory would better consolidate the Chinese’s political position and representation in this country. He cited the sad event when MCA pulled out from the Federal Cabinet 30 years ago, it resulted in the formulation of policies that adversely impacted on the Chinese community. Similarly, in the 1986 general election when the Chinese voters didn’t cast their vote wisely, the then Education Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also implemented policies that affected the Chinese community. This included the appointment of non- Chinese speaking education officers to hold high position in the Chinese primary schools. When MCA had a major victory in 1995, things improved significantly for the Chinese community with the independent Chinese schools securing permanent registration, the opening up of higher education, increased in the government scholarship for the Chinese students and the relocation of many Chinese primary schools was also allowed. This, he reiterated, was the beneficial consequence of supporting the BN Chinese candidates. He thus called on its members to better convey this important message to their friends and relatives, so that they would not repeat the past mistakes on polling day.
