16 January 2021

Keynote address by Wanita MCA National Chairperson Datuk Heng Seai Kie

On the Simultaneous Opening Ceremony of the Wanita MCA State AGMs

A very good morning to all the 4,374 Wanita MCA state delegates from across 13 different states in Malaysia.

First and foremost, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to each and everyone of you as we herald in the New Year of 2021.

Your efforts in taking the time to attend today’s unique Wanita MCA State AGM is most welcome, more so as this is the first time in MCA’s history that the 2020 State AGMs are being held simultaneously. You are all witnessing a historic and glorious moment online.

This is pioneering work. Although I would not dare say that it is unparalleled, it is surely unprecedented ~ you and me, and everyone in attendance today, are witnesses in this historic event which is being recorded and shall be stored for history.

Sisters, as we bid farewell to a difficult 2020; face the damaging impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic, monsoon floods and global economic downturn crises; 2021 will likewise be a difficult year full of challenges be it for Malaysia or other nations in the world. These, coupled with the current political upheavals in our country, can be said to stem from the fall of Pakatan Harapan due to its internal conflicts and since Perikatan Nasional came into office last year. The change in leadership and the constant rumours of an early election and others cause panic and restlessness among the rakyat.

Fortunately, in prioritising the personal safety and national interests of the rakyat combined with the surge of Covid-19 positive cases which led to a shortage of medical facilities in various states, His Majesty, the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong made a decisive and wise decision. On 12 January 2021, in adherence to Article 150(1) of the Federal Constitution, the YDP Agong gave the Royal Assent to the proclamation to a State of Emergency from then until 1 August 2021 to curtail the outbreak. At the same time, on the suggestion by the PN government, an Independent Special Committee comprising Cabinet Ministers, members from opposition parties and medical professionals was established so that if the contagion is brought under control in future, it can advise His Majesty to end the State of Emergency early and restore the national administration. The system and people’s daily lives can return to normal as what it was before.

This decision, although maliciously criticised by certain quartres with vested interests of their own, especially by opposition parties; given the current national crisis; in wake of the severity of this infectious disease and floods ravishing across various states, is to safeguard public health and people’s safety. Wanita MCA supports and respects this Royal Assent by His Majesty. I hereby appeal to all ruling and opposition parties to put aside whatever political games for power, and prioritise the rakyat first, combat the pandemic together, and provide comprehensive relief.

We also solemnly urge all Members of Parliament elected from the 9 May 2018 general elections (509); including the 52 MPs from DAP, 127 MPs to emulate the MPs from MCA in performing the basic duties as an elected representative; and immediately return to your respective constituencies and serve the rakyat with pragmatism, solve problems, prevent the outbreak from spreading. Do not merely roam about whilst turning a blind eye to the sufferings of your constituents who are in dire straits, nor turn a deaf ear to their hardships. This is because, voters have entrusted the responsibilities to elected representatives.

In the national crisis presently, I also would like to call upon all sisters in all the states across the country to be with the rakyat in going through these difficulties together. Adhering to the spirit of all parties lending support when one party is in trouble, and together with our partys’ CRSM GoCare projects along with aid agencies from the government, we will carry out anti-pandemic and disaster relief works in a holistic manner, including fund-raising, cleaning up of areas hit by the disaster and assisting flood victims to rebuild their homes.

Nevertheless, when taking part in the fight against the pandemic and for disaster relief, when facing masses of peoples from various backgrounds, please remember to take care of your own personal outbreak preventive and safety measures; protect yourself and protect your family. After all, before the arrival of the vaccine, a new variant of the virus has been reported to have spread to Malaysia. At the moment, with the contagion and the state of emergency, "safety first is the first thing to do."

Ladies and gentlemen, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, in addition to politics, culture, personal safety and lifestyle, has also severely set the economies of various countries backwards, including Malaysian companies.

In view of this, in order to revive the economy post-pandemic, the Budget 2021 will mainly support economic revitalisation by stimulating consumer demand and corporate investment. These include:

(1) Implement various measures and financial assistance to reduce the financial burden of individuals and enterprises

(2) Promote the development of human resources-including reskilling and skill upgrading plans to cultivate agile and soft-powered human capital

However, in order to ensure that the business community can quickly return to the normal economic cycle, all public infrastructure projects must be implemented as soon as possible; This is necessary to inject impetus into the economy and the market, benefit the country’s economy, households and businesses. Any delay against economic recovery will be detrimental.

In view of this, we call on the government to pay attention to the following 5 key methods to enable the survival of enterprises:

(1) Alleviate cash flow, cost and credit problems

(2) Enhance loan facilities and incentives

(3) Review tax policies to reduce business and investment costs, including:

(i) Consider re-implementing GST, but set the tax rate at 3%

(ii) Abolish inheritance tax and real property gains tax

(4) Help companies to stabilise their pace in embracing the epidemic and uncertain economic recovery prospects

(5) Restart the second Home Ownership Campaign to stimulate real estate companies and attract foreign investment.

I hope that the above can effectively assist Malaysian SMEs to survive, revitalise and recover; thereby creating employment opportunities, benefiting the rakyat and the country’s economic development.

My Sisters,

Our nation’s education system from nurseries to institutes of higher learning, has also been forced to hold classes online due to the coronavirus outbreak; UPSR and PMR have been cancelled, while SPM and STPM exams have been postponed many times.

As we are well aware, education is the foundation of a nation's prosperity, holds far-reaching impacts, and cultivates national talents. This is a national mission and every second counts.

There concern that students will become lazy and waste their youth due to long-term idleness at home must be paid heed to. In addition, it is still unknown as to when the pandemic can end. I hereby call on the Ministry of Education to follow the lead of foreign countries, make good use of local elite teachers, plan for education in the new normal as soon as possible, change the classroom to virtual classes ~ set up a timetable and arrange for selected teachers of each subject to be online. Come up with plans and systematic teaching for students at all levels across the country so that students can follow the course schedule and use computers, mobile phones and other devices to attend classes online every day to ensure that they can continue to learn and grow, and will not waste their studies due to the periods of various movement controls.

Not unexpectedly, the path to transform schools will be ridden with obstacles. But as the saying goes, “If there is a will, there must be a way”. I trust the fact that Malaysians hold the record for highest smartphone ownership would work in our favour to implement this plan.

Dear Sisters, amidst this pandemic period, we who play the role of family superintendent shoulders the critical mission to safeguard our nation by:

1.        Encourage family members to be self-disciplined and abide by the MCO SOP

2.        Implement home pandemic preventive measures and adapt to the new norm to make sure there’s zero infection within our family

3.        More home-cooking. Prepare a balanced and nutritious dietary plan for the family to bolster their immune system.

4.        Promote the “come-home-and-eat” culture to foster stronger parent-children bonds for harmonious family relations.

Dear all, family members are all gathered under one roof during MCO. This should be the golden opportunity to strengthen relations between husband-and-wife or parent-and-children. However, shockingly, according to a United Nations report that the past few months had seen a substantial rise in the rate of domestic violence across the world, including Malaysia. The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development revealed that the statistics of domestic abuse in our country had remained high, from the 81 cases in March, 337 cases in April to the 420 cases in May.

Similarly, the Women’s Aid Organisation shared statistics that since March, their hotline and Whatsapp query rate has quadrupled (400%). This trend is worrisome. Over 80% of the victims are women, and 90% of abusers are often closely related to the victims.

The threat is twofold for the women are forced to stay home due to MCO; they faced the menances of the pandemic from the outside, and abuse from the inside, but had nowhere to escape. We believe that the statistics is just the top of the iceberg. Many still had not come forward or suffered in silence for the lack of refuge or for the sake of their children.

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that the good do nothing. We hold the important mission of defending women’s rights. Our wing through the Legal Advisory and Women's Aid (LAWA) Centre has combined the might of four government agencies and four major non-government organisations had launched the “Say No to Domestic Violence” national campaign to provide a one-stop centre to protect the victims, providing them with free legal advice and the means to seek justice.

The 191 divisions of Wanita MCA across 13 states automatically purposed themselves as the immediate contact centre for complaints and assistance. Today, I bid all my Sisters and state representatives online today to participate in the movement as a “bouncer” of domestic abuse. The procedure is simple:

1.        When alerted to domestic violence, immediately contact the 15999 (24-hour) hotline to help the police and social welfare departments take action and bring the abuser to justice.progress

2.        If found wanting for legal advice, consultation or welfare, contact the LAWA hotline, 012-386 3884.

Dear Sisters, other than pandemic/disaster-relief efforts, 2021 is also an instrumental GE15 year for MCA. As the women of MCA, we bear the monumental undertaking of house-visits and pollings. Due to MCO, however, house-visits will clearly be limited. As such, we must coordinate a strategy to contact households and conduct polling over the phone. We will progress gradually, starting with our own MCA members before moving to relatives, friends, and social groups.

We have an arduous path ahead of us, but all journeys begin with a single step. I firmly believe that as long as we march shoulder-to-shoulder, and we consolidate the strength of MCA and its two wings, the mission can be completed before March 2021.

Know your enemy and know yourselves, and you will win a hundred battles. Whether we can reconquer our seats and reattian glory in the coming election hang on the precision of our polling, the readiness of our battle plans, the quality of our candidates, and the political ideals and direction our our party. As I’ve repeated many times, Wanita MCA is the vanguard in any election, and the most important asset of MCA.

Dear Sisters, JR2.0. Take your best shot!

MCA is our home, our strength is our norm.

With that, it is my utmost pleasure to announce the “2020 Wanita MCA State AGM Opening Ceremony.”

Wishing everyone peace and health away from the pandemic.

And may all Sisters online

Enjoy long-lasting youth and beauty.

Thank you, and take care.

-MCA online-