By accusing Wee Meng Chee, a 24-year old Taiwan-based Malaysian undergraduate, of mocking the national anthem, MCA Youth Chief Liow Tiong Lai has missed the opportunity to find out why Chinese Malaysian youths are not satisfied with the government.

Instead of hurling an accusation against Wee which is hard to justify, Liow should have engaged Wee to find out why he wrote the song. His sentiment could be shared by many Chinese Malaysians who are struggling to be accepted as Malaysians of equal status with the majority.

Wee had recorded a parody set against the tune of Negaraku, with his lyrics containing stinging criticism of the government's racist policies and the ineptness of the police force. The video, posted on YouTube.com, has been accessed by almost 400,000 visitors.

It cannot be denied that since the Asian financial crisis in 1997, the Chinese community in Malaysia has felt that they have lost their sense of direction. Three main elements are very important to the community, namely, economic and employment opportunities, political stability and social harmony.

Since the financial crisis, the domestic business climate remained mediocre although the national economy continues to grow between 5-6 per cent. The growth is attributed to the primary commodities, oil and gas and public sectors. These sectors are dominated by large and government-linked companies. The inept performance of the economy has caused frustration and dissatisfaction among both Chinese and Malays in business.

Unfortunately, instead of focusing on growing the economic pie to help uplift the economic well-being of all races, Umno has called for a redistribution of private equity ownership and for the New Economic Policy to continue indefinitely. Moreover, the allegation that Chinese Malaysians have monopolised the country s wealth obviously has not gone down well with those who are struggling to stay afloat in a mediocre domestic market and a competitive world out there.

Since April 2004, governmental agencies and departments have been told to procure directly from Malay suppliers for purchases more than RM10,000. Within Umno, the party has established a unit to monitor any leakages of contracts from Malays to other communities. Until recently, MCA ministers appeared to be ignorant of the directive.

Without any access to government procurement which seems to favour a special segment of the society and a lacklustre economy, non-Malay small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) are neither expanding nor creating employment opportunities. Many are struggling to cope with rising costs of transportation, utilities and raw materials.

Recently, the eminent Professor Emeritus Mohamed Ariff voiced his concern that the domestic economy is not generating enough job vacancies to cater for the local workforce. His concern is evident judging from the unemployment statistics of fresh graduates and new entrants to the labour force, which is growing to an unhealthy 80,000 or more.

Some of the detrimental implications are the growing intra-ethnic inequality which has increased from 1999 to 2004, decline in earning premium of university graduates and the growth of cheap foreign labour (almost 3.5 million) in the country.

Leadership lacking

On the economic front, MCA has failed to provide a leadership to the community it claims to represent. It is evident that the party was not consulted in the process of drafting the 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP, 2006-2010). The plan marked an unprecedented occasion where both Islam Hadhari and the Malay Agenda were listed as a comprehensive development framework and a target for the socio-economic blueprint. The inclusion of Islam Hadhari has turned the 9MP into a divisive document.

The lack of participation and engagement in the policy making process did not allow MCA to present the interests and needs of the SMEs which are predominantly controlled by Chinese Malaysians to the cabinet for consideration. As a result, there is no sense of direction for the local SMEs. In addition to the mediocre domestic economy and intense competition outside, these SMEs are faced with prohibitive laws such as the Industrial Coordination Act and the Distributive Trade Act which are detrimental to their business growth.

While the party has launched numerous initiatives, none of these is able to comprehensive present a roadmap to the Chinese community on how they should prepare themselves to face global competition and what they should do to thrive domestically. Instead of paying lip service, the party should find a political solution to the lack of direction of the Chinese-owned businesses.

Politically, the Chinese community is quite disturbed with recent gestures and statements made by Umno leaders that are laced with violence and racism. Many view the provocations as unnecessary. If MCA wants to remain relevant to the Chinese community, it must reassess its position in the BN vis-a-vis Umno. In a rebuttal to Umno Youth chief Hishammudin Hussein on the Islamic state declaration by deputy premier Najib Abdul Razak, Liow retorted that MCA is an equal partner in Barisan Nasional (BN) and not a slave.

Rhetoric aside, it is pertinent for MCA to access real political influence in BN and ensure a role in the policy making process, so that the state machineries are not dominated by a single party. The party launched its 'Rakyat Malaysia' campaign last year and tried to win detractors over by arguing that it is more realistic than 'Bangsa Malaysia' as it focuses on rights ascribed to citizenship.

It is an irony that after almost 50 years of independence that the party is still talking about citizenship rights and the federal constitution. Is it a self admission that the party has failed to integrate the Chinese community into the larger Malaysian society? As a result, the question about equal rights continues to linger in the thoughts of most Chinese Malaysians. I have argued elsewhere that Chinese Malaysians still think like migrants. Their sense of a lack of belonging to the nation is evident.

Over the last 10 years, more than 80,000 Chinese Malaysians have taken up foreign citizenship. Hundreds of thousands more are living abroad as permanent residents or students. Their situation is not helped by an overdose of ethno-religious politicking and a politically weak MCA.

Ingrained perceptions

The perceptions of marginalisation and helplessness are deeply embedded in the minds of Chinese Malaysians. Wee's song, which expresses his sentiments, is an example.

Socially, MCA has not been able to do more than providing match-making services for its members. Chinese vernacular schools received about three percent of the total allocation for education. MCA is claiming credit for successfully relocating and rehabilitating more than 60 primary Chinese vernacular schools.

However, the number of children attending Chinese vernacular primary schools has grown by almost 40 percent over the last 10 years. Today, almost 95 percent of all Chinese Malaysians aged between 7 and 12 years are attending vernacular schools. But the number of schools has decreased since the early 1970s.

A young MCA upstart and a celebrity defended MCA in a talk show and said the party has successfully increased the number of government scholarship recipients. He did not mention the yearly agony for thousands of youths who have to beg and appeal for places in local public universities to study courses of their choice despite obtaining good results in examinations.

The community does not need a MCA which acts like a welfare organisation or a complaints bureau but a party which can aptly represent its political, social and economic interests. Only a politically potent MCA can act as the guardian of the community.

My criticism of the MCA does not mean that I condone racial politics. This is merely to point out to the party leadership what it has failed to do over the last 38 years since 1969. It cannot claim to represent the voices of the Chinese community if it is only interested in playing fringe politics.

Liow's reaction to Wee's harmless song is a good example of a lack of political acumen. He has wrongly accused Wee of mocking the national anthem without looking deeper at the content and intent of the song.

Liow should be reminded that his honeymoon as the MCA Youth chief is over.
KHOO KAY PENG is an independent policy and political analyst.