MCA, MIC seen fading away ahead of state elections

Once the non-Malay mainstay for the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, MCA and MIC may find themselves fading into the background at the six state elections to come this year, thanks to BN's newfound alliance with Pakatan Harapan (PH) and its components DAP and PKR. 

Political analyst James Chin of Australia's University of Tasmania said Umno appeared to have neglected MCA and MIC since forming the coalition government at the federal level with PH. 

Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said the role of MCA and MIC had traditionally depended on the success of Umno, long seen as the BN lynchpin. 

"Even if they clash, it won't matter because DAP and PKR can make a clean sweep of the Indian and Chinese votes," he said. 

"The outcome of the talks on seat distribution between BN and PH is still uncertain, but they will likely stick to the policy of allowing the party that holds the seat to field candidates in its defence." 

MIC deputy president M Saravanan recently said he considered his party as non-existent within BN.

He said MIC had not been called for talks about BN's plans for the upcoming state polls. 

"Not only are we not called for meetings, it looks like we are non-existent," he told reporters at Batu Caves on Feb 5. 

BN suffered a massive defeat at the 15th general election in November last year, winning just 30 parliamentary seats throughout the country. 

MCA succeeded in defending only two seats – Ayer Hitam and Tanjung Piai – while MIC retained Tapah. 

With elections looming in six states – Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah – Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Feb 8 that three committees had been formed, including an election committee to draft strategies for the state polls. 

He said the election committee would focus on the state elections to come, including the issue of seat allocations, to ensure a strong and united foundation between parties, including in Sabah and Sarawak.

The PH chairman also said that the election committee would meet soon, involving the election director of every party.

Analyst Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said MCA and MIC might participate in the elections but only in a supporting role, to ensure that the voters choose the candidates fielded by BN-PH. 

He said such assistance might be given in the hope of being awarded with appointments at government-linked companies in the event of victory in the state in question. 

"But actually being given seats to contest might be hard for them," he added. 

"They might just help during the campaign period, to assist in rallying support."