The ferocious in-fighting of MCA has been very colourful and newsworthy because the so-called leaders are split everywhere (even at a function in MIC president S Samy Vellu's house) and at all levels.

There is now also a clear division of the so-called Team A and Team B, each claiming to be wronged and want to right the wrongs.

However, besides calling on president Dr Ling Liong Sik to step down and opposing the takeover of Nanyang Press Holdings, Team B has in fact nothing much to offer to Malaysians as far as public politics, like democratisation, human rights, anti-corruption, cronyism and nepotism are concerned.

What if Team B wins in next year's party elections? Would they relinquish MCA's ownership and control of The Star, Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press, and help to abolish the Printing Presses and Publications Act? Would they work towards the abolition of the Internal Security Act, Official Secrets Act and other oppressive legislation? If not, why should we sympathise with them, or even support them? If not, they are no better than the incumbent.

What if Team A wins? Everything will be the same again: Ling will continue to be the yes-man of Umno and Mahathir, and the media tightly controlled and manipulated to suit the agenda of the rich, powerful and arrogant. MCA will continue to have only four ministers. Nothing will change.

Thus unless Team B develops, articulates and expresses public issues for the benefit of all Malaysians, including the ethnic Chinese, I would suggest that Chinese Malaysians opt for a more modern and updated alternative, i.e. help to strengthen multi-ethnic opposition parties like Keadilan and DAP so that a checks-and-balances system could be enhanced.

Only through a genuinely democratic system of governance could the ethnic Chinese solve their problems with the government. Only through weakening the grips of the Umno-dominated government which is supported by MCA could we Chinese Malaysians hope to gain the trust and respect of the majority of Malay/Muslim Malaysians who have deserted and abandoned Umno. Otherwise, Chinese Malaysians would probably be perceived as conservative and even reactionary supporters of the oppressive Umno when the majority of Malays/Muslims desire democratic changes.

In the 21st century, Chinese Malaysians must summon enough moral courage to leave the ethnic or racial cocoons of MCA and embrace multi-ethnic politics so that we could proudly see ourselves and be seen by others as truly Malaysians.