How awesome did UMNO “win” when they asked to borrow these 3 seats ?

When Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dato’ Seri Dr Shahidan Kassim recently reminded its most senior component party in the Barisan Nasional alliance “not to ask for seats if they cannot win”, the learned Cabinet Minister should reflect on Michael Jackson’s song “Man in the Mirror.”

Looking back at the 13^th general election (GE13), UMNO not only lost the three seats borrowed by UMNO from MCA, BUT LOST with a bigger majority. IN Shahidan's very own words, why borrow the seats and only to lose them?
UMNO was defeated in the Kuantan parliamentary seat in GE13 by a bigger majority of 4,515 votes as compared to 1,826 ballots in GE12 when MCA contested.

MCA won Gelang Patah in 2008 by 8,851 votes but UMNO was crushed in this federal constituency in 2013 by a skyrocketing thumping majority of 14,762.

Meanwhile, Wangsa Maju saw the Opposition’s majority jump to 5,511 when UMNO was fielded there in 2013 as opposed to the hairline 150 votes Pakatan majority when MCA was the candidate in 2008.

Therefore, all three seats were lost by UMNO by a bigger majority . Thus it is UMNO who lost these federal seats in the first place and not MCA. So when Shahidan Kassim patronisingly said “don’t ask for seats if you cant win”, he should reflect on the reality that UMNO had borrowed MCA’s seats but instead of winning them, they were defeated by a much expanded majority in all the three seats.

Perhaps he should be reminded again that MCA had never stabbed its friends from behind nor in front and has stood by the coalition BN and UMNO through thick in thin such as the 1969 and 1988 UMNO Baru crisis, 1999 Reformasi movement brought about by then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad sacking his deputy Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and the recent crisis following the departure of top big shots from UMNO.

Through thick and thin, MCA has never attacked UMNO openly and continues to remain a close ally settling differences through closed door consultation. Asking for a return of borrowed seats is only normal.

Perhaps Shahidan Kassim should also be reminded that according to Politweet, UMNO lost 12% of Malay support in Johor and he should be more worried about this from the BN angle and overcoming it rather than accusing that MCA is unable to win any seats.

Chris Daniel Wong
MCA Religious Harmony Bureau Secretary

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