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With MCA contesting four seats in the upcoming Melaka state election, including two traditionally held by DAP, the party is looking to reassert its place in Malaysian politics. But can MCA win back voter support, and demonstrate that it still has a strong role within Barisan Nasional? And what might the Melaka election reveal about the party's political future? On this episode of #ConsiderThis Melisa Idris speaks with Neow Choo Seong, Communications Chief of Barisan Nasional Youth & Information Chief of MCA Youth.

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00:18Hello and good evening, I'm Melissa Idris. Welcome to Consider This. This is the show
00:22where we want you to consider and then reconsider what you know of the news of the day. I'm here
00:27in Melaka today at the beginning of our Melaka election coverage on Consider This and we're
00:33looking at MCA today which is contesting four seats in the upcoming Melaka state election including two
00:39which is traditionally held by DAP. So the party is looking to reassert its place in Malaysian
00:47politics but can MCA win back voter support and demonstrate that it still has a role within the
00:55coalition Barisan National and what might the state election, the Melaka state election reveal
00:59about the party's political future given all the realignments we're seeing in the political
01:05landscape. Joining me on the show today to explore this further I have Neil Chiu-Seong who is the
01:11Communications Chief for Barisan National Youth. He's also the Information Chief of MCA Youth. Neil,
01:18hi good of you to join me all the way in Melaka. Thank you so much for being here today.
01:22So I want to start with the look at MCA contesting the four seats in the Melaka state election
01:30including Banda, Hilaire and Kota Laxmana which have traditionally been DAP strongholds. So let's
01:37start with those seats specifically. How realistic do you think are the chances of wresting back these
01:44seats from DAP? They are tough constituencies to compete to contest in. What are your thoughts?
01:51Yeah, of course. We come in of course as underdogs but in politics I think nothing is impossible. First of
02:03all,
02:03we have been through in this year itself we have been through the state elections in Johor followed by
02:09Negri's Milan and now we are facing another battle in Melaka. If we were to say this is a tough
02:18seat,
02:18it's impossible. Then we look back and how we battled Anthony Lok in China and we managed to win
02:27and get back the seat. Not only a big breakthrough because MCA didn't win for the past four general elections
02:36elections or stay elections almost 20 years in Negri's Milan. We never won any seat. But now come back to
02:43Melaka, I think we have two incumbent seats as you mentioned in Klebang and Machap Jaya. But now the focus
02:51will be in these two Chinese majority seats, namely Bandar Hilaire and also Kota Laxmana. Of course after a week
03:03of campaign we have seen these two candidates are working
03:06working really well, working very hard. But what I want to highlight is that they are not new in these
03:13areas. Just mean for our candidate for Bandar Hilaire and also Melvin for Kota Laxamana.
03:25Both of them have been serving the community for many, many years as councillor in their respective local council.
03:37Is there extra pressure? Are the stakes higher this time around? Because the seats, these two seats came after the
03:48announcement of the candidate announcement, right?
03:51Came after party leaders walked out of that candidate announcement, then there was more negotiation and you have two extra
03:58seats. Is there extra pressure for MCA to demonstrate that it can win back?
04:04No, it's not about the pressure. It's about being pragmatic and realistic. MCA wants to really contest in the Chinese
04:13majority area. This is what we are built for. This is what we are here for.
04:19Some may say that we are only depending on the marginal seats, mixed areas, mainly depending on the Malay voters.
04:33But we need that. We need to prove. We need to prove that knowing that the Chinese sentiment has slowly
04:43shifted and the upset towards PH, particularly DAP.
04:49This is a political strategy. MCA must come back, be the voice of the Chinese community.
04:56Despite we are also being the voice for all, but what will be more significant and meaningful for MCA is
05:04that we get back the voice of the Chinese.
05:07We get back the confidence of the Chinese. And that is how we want to transform and how we want
05:13to improvise, right?
05:14So this is a very important political transformation for MCA. We need the voice, we need the support of the
05:23Chinese community.
05:24Make us stronger. And then we will have check and balance, right? We talk about the issues. We know about
05:32the problems facing the Chinese community, despite having strong support given to DAP.
05:38But for the past many years, they failed. They failed to live up to the expectation. And what is next?
05:45What is Chinese, what choice do they have, right?
05:49This is something that President of MCA, Dr. Sri Rika Xiong, this is why he insists that there are seats
05:57particularly contesting by DAP should be given to MCA.
06:02It's not that we want more seats or we are being greedy, but this is a very important ground to
06:07test and allow the Chinese to choose a better option if they think that DAP is no longer relevant or
06:16not representing their voice.
06:18Okay, so I want to touch on the Chinese sentiment or your assessment of the Chinese sentiment currently, but let's
06:23focus on the seat allocation because I think it's important to look beyond the numbers, how many seats any party
06:29is contesting.
06:30What I do think is interesting is that there was a renegotiation, right? And it happened while PAS was also
06:37at that decision-making table. So maybe talk to me a little bit about that.
06:41What do you think changed in those negotiations? What did that seat allocation dispute or disagreement reveal to you about
06:49MCA's place in Barisan National currently, now with PAS and Perikata National in the picture?
06:55Yeah. Well, I was not in the negotiation table. But I mean, if you look at the whole negotiation process,
07:03of course it was done between Barisan National and Perikata National.
07:06So it was done by both parties. It's not by PAS neither. It's by MCA as a single party, right?
07:13It's by two coalitions together. And we, Barisan National, have made it very clear from the very beginning that we
07:20will contest 21 seats.
07:21We will defend our incumbent seats. So we have seven left to negotiate, right? Of course, I mean, we have
07:29to consider the collaboration and we can't take all, right? They want to contest seven seats, it's fine.
07:35But the issue that we are facing is that out of seven seats, four seats are DAP seats, right? So
07:44we need to be pragmatic. It's not that Barisan National wants all the seats, but we have four DAP seats
07:51to contest.
07:52If we want to look at political strategy, then we must put serious contenders to DAP, right? So in Perikata
08:05National, how many parties or seats or candidates that can really pose a serious strategy?
08:12I mean, let's be honest about that. I mean, I'm not being arrogant or being, you know, overconfident, but we
08:18are talking about political strategy. So we want to have real contenders for DAP.
08:27Which comes back to the question I asked about how high are the stakes. So if you don't manage to
08:33win these two seats that you fought for, will that be a setback for MCA in future election and see
08:40allocation negotiations?
08:41To me, in any competition, there is a winner and loser. To me, as long as we can give a
08:48good fight, as long as we can offer good candidates, better candidates, then I think that is fine.
08:56And we have to look at, most importantly, how we want to convince the Chinese and how the Chinese shift
09:04in this current political dynamism.
09:08Because we have seen, and everyone knows, majority Chinese voters, they are very upset. And they started to feel politically
09:18tired. They have lost hope. The hope given to them in the past for better governance, for a stronger government,
09:27has gone just like that.
09:30They haven't seen a serious government really take care of their interests, particularly in the economy and also education.
09:39These two are the main, the most important issues for the Chinese community.
09:45So I think what is more important is how MCA can bring this balance to our coalition, right?
09:54I mean, we know that PN might have their own Chinese candidates from Wawasan and Gerakan, but we are also
10:04looking at the pragmatism and how we can help the whole team win this election.
10:12We must learn from the past, previous experience as well, right? We know our strengths, we know our weaknesses. So
10:20I think this is something that we should focus on.
10:25I mean, we have gone into the second week of the election campaign period. So I think the focus now
10:34is that we really want to win the Chinese support.
10:39Right. But the disillusionment of the Chinese electorate with DAP, and I think there is a growing narrative around that,
10:49doesn't necessarily mean that they are ready to turn to MCA.
10:52It could be a couple of options. It could be there are other parties out there. You mentioned Wawasan, you
10:58mentioned Bersama is also an option.
11:01Or the other option is not to turn up to vote at all. Yeah. So talk to me about how
11:07MCA is positioning itself or rebuilding some of that lost trust that you spoke about.
11:13Well, being a man on the ground, I wouldn't want to be disillusioned to tell you that, yeah, if Chinese
11:20are upset with DAP, they will straight away translate or transform the votes into MCA.
11:26That is, I will be lying to you if I say so. But let's be honest, from someone that is
11:35always working on the ground, listening to the people, there is a high possibility that most Chinese who are upset
11:42may not want to turn up.
11:45Are you concerned about voters turning up?
11:46That is my concern as well. And I have to tell it to the Chinese voters. I mean, this is
11:53a democratic process where everyone has the right to participate and to make sure that the government that will be
12:06formed, regardless whether you come out or not, as long as the process is going on.
12:12And we know at the end of the day, there will be a government form, right? So everyone has the
12:18responsibility to choose. So the Chinese community as well, that, you know, your voice is so important.
12:26Your voice is so crucial to make sure that we have a strong government, we have a balanced government that
12:36can represent the interests of all. Therefore, therefore, if we should put away all this political loyalty, because it's a
12:47democratic country, we should...
12:50What do you mean by that?
12:51Yeah, if you think, look, the sentiment is that if I'm upset with PH, I would rather not to vote.
12:58What does that mean? That means most people have this political loyalty. Political loyalty towards one party. If I'm, even
13:07though if I'm upset, I would rather not to vote for the other party than to come out.
13:14Oh, it's like cheating.
13:15It's like cheating.
13:16It's not cheating, but this is a myth of political loyalty that we say, which is not healthy. The Chinese
13:26is not inducted to DAP. The Chinese used to support MCA and Barisan National in the early days. And how
13:35they shifted to DAP, I need to remind them.
13:38Because they thought that BN is not doing well, or was not doing well, right? So they want a better
13:45government. They want a more transparent, more, I mean, credible government.
13:53Well, part of that, sorry to interrupt, but part of that shift had to do with the whole 1MDB scandal.
13:59I think even before that, 2008, 2013.
14:03Maybe it culminated with that. So talk to me now, because Najib Razah is back in the news, back in
14:09the headlines, just before the Melaka elections with his house arrest.
14:12How difficult has that been in the conversation and the narrative to persuade voters that MCA is a party of
14:22transparency and governance and accountability?
14:24Before we go into Najib, which I want to emphasize is that what the Chinese community should understand, how this
14:32democratic process works, is that we are not inducted to one party.
14:36We have the rights to demand for the best from all participating parties, whether it's from MCA or DAP.
14:47If MCA is not doing well, it's fine. You just throw us out. You just throw us under the bus
14:53and you voted for DAP for the past four general elections, right?
14:57So it's fair, because we are very pragmatic. I'm also one of the voters. I'm also a human.
15:03So you want to vote for who can represent you best?
15:06We want the best. Chinese are very pragmatic, as I say. They want the best policy for their business interests,
15:12for economic interests, education interests, right?
15:16And also their livelihood. It's normal, right? Maybe their expectation is slightly higher compared to others.
15:24But what I want to say is that today, if we see that DAP, if they cannot perform as what
15:32we used to hope and think, then I think it's time to look at the other options.
15:39Other options, what I mean is that let's see who can form the government in this scenario.
15:46Can Bersama form a government? Or you think it's more realistic for BN to form a government? Then we have
15:55to choose.
15:55Why I said so? Because this government will make policy, right? They will come up with policy that will affect
16:07everyone in this state.
16:08Do you think that the Malaga state elections will be decided on by local issues, local candidates, and not influenced
16:17by what's happening at the federal level, including with Najib Razak's house arrest?
16:21Yeah.
16:22Does that make it more difficult for you to explain to voters why they should vote MCA, given your proximity
16:28with Amil?
16:29If you look at this whole state election, it's a state election. It's not a general election, right? So to
16:34be fair, we are choosing the state government. It's not the federal government.
16:39You don't think federal politics will come into play?
16:40Well, definitely it will. But let's look more objectively. How do you think the national policy from PH would benefit
16:49the people on the ground?
16:51We have to be very objective. You can't just put in Najib and then you think that, yeah, that is
16:56the issue, then you just throw us under the bus.
16:59But if you want to relate to the state government or the state government with the federal government, then let's
17:06look at the policy from PH.
17:08When they were ruling Melaka state in 2018, what have they done? I mean, everyone knows. But now they are
17:16also in the government, part of the state government and in the federal government, isn't it?
17:20So we want to see how, especially in this state election context, we want to choose a state government that
17:29can help the local activities, local business activities, local welfare and so on.
17:35But I know that local issues play some role and influence to the voters as well. But what my message
17:46to the voters is, we have to be very pragmatic. This is the moment we want to choose the local
17:52adun, state assemblymen, to serve our local interests.
17:56That's been the message to voters. That should be the message, yeah.
17:58Do you think that the message is landing amongst voters? I'm curious to know, what's your assessment of how many
18:05voters remain undecided at this point, so close to polling day?
18:10Well, if we go on the ground, I think we have to be, I mean, look at different grounds, areas.
18:18I think the Malay majority areas or Malay voters that I've been through, I think their mind is quite fixed.
18:25Quite sad already?
18:26Quite sad. We all know what they will likely choose, right? For the Chinese, most of the Chinese local voters
18:37that I've met, I think they are still undecided, partly because they are very upset with PH as I mentioned
18:44to you, but on the other hand, they don't know who to choose.
18:47When they don't know who to choose, most likely they will choose not to come out. This is what concerns
18:53me most because, again, I want to emphasize, and the message that I'm sending to everyone, to the audience and
19:01the Chinese community, particularly in Melaka, is that you still have to practice your democratic rights.
19:09Even if you don't come out, someone will still choose, right? Someone will make that choice for you.
19:15Someone will make the choice for you, but then don't complain, right, if that is against your will. But to
19:21me, it's a democratic process that should be appreciated by everyone. And most importantly, in the areas like Kota Laksamana,
19:29like Bandar Hile, we want to have good representatives that can really bring benefits to the local residents.
19:38And we all know MCA, speaking of MCA candidates again, and we have two very young, pragmatic, not to say
19:47very young, but considered young, progressive, pragmatic candidates that are familiar and have been serving in the local council for
19:59many years. And they have this experience.
20:02Well, it's great for you because you're, you know, MCA youth, right? You're really targeting the younger generation.
20:08Yeah, because this is how we want to transform MCA. This is what I want to tell the Chinese community.
20:13Generational renewal.
20:14Yeah, that we are transforming. We need the support of the Chinese and the strength for us to transform faster.
20:23Well, earlier you said something that was quite interesting to me. So you said that you are aware of the
20:28party of MCA's strengths and weaknesses.
20:30And if I may volunteer, I think the strength of the party is its grassroots machinery, its grassroots community ties.
20:37But I'm curious to know what your assessment is of your weaknesses. What do you think are the weaknesses of
20:42the party?
20:43Well, the grassroots, if I may, the grassroots used to be our strength.
20:47It used to be the strength.
20:48But now things have changed. Why? Because our grassroots, mostly, they are ageing.
20:56Most of the younger voters are no longer living locally. They are living, either they are studying somewhere else or
21:04they are working in other states or other countries.
21:07Right.
21:07So these grassroots are our assets. Yes, they are very, very important to MCA.
21:13But MCA cannot just depend on our grassroots because the demography has changed. The geography has changed. The people no
21:23longer reside in Malacca.
21:25Yes. The younger generation.
21:27The younger generation.
21:27Is one of the aging states, if I'm not mistaken? Yeah.
21:29I mean, most of the states have this problem, except for the main major cities in KL Slang or Johor
21:35maybe or Penang.
21:36But other states, particularly in Malacca, we have seen the young voters are actually residing outside the state.
21:44So we must also think of ways to engage the younger voters who are not in Malacca. And these are
21:54the people who will just come back to vote if they wish to. And you can't really touch base with
22:01these people.
22:02Right. So we need to look into our campaign strategy, not only through in-person engagements like we typically do.
22:14That was our strength.
22:16But now the weaknesses that we are overcoming, we are addressing is that we want to engage the younger generation
22:26through social media, through digital platform.
22:29And what we are having now, the transformation, as you see, is that we have two younger candidates, right, who
22:39are doing very well on digital platform.
22:43You can see their campaign. They are really utilizing the social media actively.
22:51You know, this is something that you may not see in the past, but something that we are, I consider
22:59it still a work in progress.
23:01Our communication strategies, I think we are also improving.
23:06In the past, you only see DAP who are like dominating the whole social media campaign.
23:15So this is something that we are, we are really progressing. We are really making a lot of efforts, which
23:21I think it's still considered not our strength, something weaknesses that need to be, need to be.
23:28Is that also representative within the party? So in the party, is there also this desire?
23:34Oh yeah, of course, of course.
23:37If there is no desire, you won't see so many young faces coming up, not only here in Melaka, but
23:43also in Negeri Semilan, back in Johor.
23:47And I believe this is a strategy.
23:52How did you convince the old guard to give way to the young folks?
24:00No, I mean, that's not my job to convince.
24:03But as MCA youth, you have quite a role of communicating this narrative, not just to the outside, but to
24:10your internal party members, right?
24:12The transition is doing well. I think the senior members, the senior leaders in the party, they are, they voluntarily
24:20invite more, giving more opportunities to have more younger members, you know, to come forward, not just a symbol of
24:32representative, but really to have them coming forward and be the face of MCA.
24:40So what is MCA to the younger leaders? What is different about MCA? What is the MCA spirit that the
24:49younger generation want to push forward that may be different from the MCA that it has become?
24:57No, I think the good thing, the best thing that I've witnessed, being a young member itself, is that the
25:09leadership, the MCA leadership currently, not only wanting to have more young or fresh faces to represent the party, but
25:18they want credible young faces that can really speak out for the people.
25:26So particularly the Chinese community in certain critical areas such as economy and education that has always been the heart
25:34center of the issues for the Chinese community.
25:37That will not change. That is still at the core.
25:40That is our core. I mean, that is what we can do and contribute to the country, right? Economy. We
25:46do most of the businesses are the Chinese. So this is how the Chinese community contribute to the country, right?
25:55Education. We want to have great talents. We want to produce more talents for the country.
26:00And this is very important. And this is very important to us. I think to everybody, not only the Chinese,
26:05but to all, everybody, all Malaysians. So this is what we think we can do to help, right?
26:11So the young faces that we are having currently, if you can see from their social media platforms, they are
26:18very proactive. They always speak out. They are no longer living in a bubble.
26:25They are living out of the bubble. Be with the people.
26:29Quite vocal in their contradictory views.
26:33Yeah. So this is something that we have to admit. In the past, maybe we were too comfortable being in
26:37the government, right? Until we realize that, look, we need to go back to the basics.
26:43Who are we serving for? What are the basics? Basics are the people, right? The people is the basic element
26:51that we should really understand and be with them.
26:58And serve.
26:58And serve them, right? So this is the new dimension that I've seen and I myself personally is doing as
27:08well.
27:09Well, I'm going to have to stop you there. We've run out of time, but thank you so much for
27:13sharing some of your insights and joining me here on the ground in Melaka.
27:16Thank you for your time.
27:17Thank you for having me.
27:18That's all the time we have for you on this episode of Consider This. I'm Melissa Idris signing off for
27:22the evening.
27:23Thank you so much for watching and good night.

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