UMNO, But Few Else, Back MCA After EGM
2001-06-27
The Chinese communities kept their own counsel. The MCA bought
the Nanyang Press over their heads, insisting what makes economic
sense is good for the community. It does not, but the MCA
president, Dato' Seri Ling Liong Sik, is convinced that if he
wins, the community wins. It is how the Prime Minister, Dato'
Seri Mahathir Mohamed views his community, Dato' Seri S. Samy
Vellu his. So, when the EGM allowed Ling to go ahead with his
purchases with a wafer think majority, MCA was told, not by its
community leaders, but by the Prime Minister that the factions
must kiss and make-up.
The UMNO secretary-general, Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob, is
"confident" of the MCA's leaders' wisdom. No doubt he is. Two
UMNO vice presidents, Tan Sri Muhiyuddin Yassin and Tan Sri
Mohamed Taib, are equally confident the MCA would rise above this
kerfuffle and emerge victorious. No Chinese leader of any note
have welcomed the EGM decision to approve the MCA purchase of
Nanyang Press. Indeed, a few groups have excoriated it.
MCA is now set to dispose off most of the shares it bought.
It would take a minority stake, but would sell only to
like-minded supporters. If that was the intention, why did it
not buy in tandem with them? Dr Ling miscalculated the Chinese
community's opposition. He has not denied that the MCA went on
to buy the newspapers because Dr Mahathir was uncomfortabe with a
once-Anwar supporter controlling it. Mr Tong Kooi Yong did not
understand the depth of that fear when he attempted to buy into
the Sun. He now sits in voluntary exile in Canda.
In any case, as Dr Mahathir puts it crudely, the takeover of
the the dailies is a "minor" issue. And sets the tone for how
newspapers should behave: "Report the truth, because your
readers deserve that. If you start twisting your reports and try
to influence your readers, your are not doing your readers a
service." Which is probably why the UMNO-owned newspapers have a
time-honoured reputation of bending the news to fit.
As usual, the man triviliases the issues in the MCA takeover
of the Nanyang Press. His version of the truth is when the
newspapers attack the opposition and praise his worldview of
events. The Chinese community does not accept that as a useful
yardstick. Not any more. Dr Mahathir accuses the two papers of
unfair reporting during the Lunas byelection.
This is the case of killing the bearer of bad tidings. The
MCA was already in bad odour with the community and with the
Chinese in Lunas well before the byelection. It could not gets
its act together in time, opened its local election office
difficult for the locals lto get to, and campaigned as if voters
could only vote for them.
The MCA's hold will depend upon how quickly the two factions
can unite after this fractious fight. Perhaps it should set up a
foundation to run the two newspapers and let the community be
allowed to appoint half the trustees. If the Chinese community
thinks seriously enough of wanting to have newspapers, it must
allow for politicians to disengage from the running of
newspapers.
The MCA was wrong to buy the newspapers because they did not
back it. There was, in retrospect, no hurry to buy the
newspapers in a rush. For Dr Ling to say that the Star sells
well and is profitable, and he cannot see why the Nanyang Siang
Pau and China Press could be, is sheer gobbledygook. The Star is
an English-language newspaper. Chinese newspapers, like the
Malay and Indian, operate under different cultural frames. What
works for the Chinese would not work for the Malay or Tamil
newspapers. Indeed, when the MCA took over Tong Bao, it folded.
There is dissonance between the Chinese political and
cultural elite. Once they worked in tandem. Not any more. The
MCA's political agenda is to make sure it would be a loyal satrap
of the ruling coalition, prepared to sacrifice the community for
its leaders' comforts. But the younger Chinese, like the younger
Malay and younger India, believe there is more to politics than
licking the boots of whoever is in control. It is a clash not
only of generations, but of worldviews.
The MCA does not understand that. Even the DAP, which
supported the opposition to the Nanyang take over, misunderstands
this. It should have kept quiet, instead of issuing ultimatums
to the MCA over how it handled the affair. The Chinese cultural
leaders realise it. Meanwhile, can the two factions unite? The
MCA deputy president, Dato' Lim Ah Lek, says it is for Dr Ling to
make the first move. Which means nothing is resolved. The first
order of business, in his view, is the imminent resignation of Dr
Ling.
M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my
| 
