Chua backs youth leader in Perkasa tiff

KUALA LUMPUR, April 4 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has come out in defence of an MCA Youth leader’s criticism of Perkasa and refused to be pressured into sacking the latter.

The party president pointed out to The Malaysian Insider this afternoon that, if anything, the MCA had its own method of dealing with disciplinary problems involving its members and would follow the due process when it was deemed fit.

He also defended Loh Chew June, the Youth wing’s deputy secretary-general, and said that “on the surface”, the leader had not committed any wrong.

“You cannot simply call on a party to sack its member. We, in MCA, have our own disciplinary committee to investigate these matters,” he said.

Dr Chua added that Loh had a right to speak his mind on whatever topic, as long as he did not breach the party’s code of conduct.

“However, on the surface, I do not think he has breached any code of conduct,” he pointed out.

Loh, along with Penang Gerakan chief Datuk Dr Teng Hock Nan, has been at loggerheads with Malay rights group Perkasa when the duo criticised the organisation, calling it “racist”.

Perkasa Youth chief Arman Azha Abu Hanifah took offence to the criticism and called on both Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders to apologise within 48-hours from Friday or he would pressure Gerakan and MCA leaders to sack them.

Arman’s demand has fallen on deaf ears, however, with both Loh and Teng refusing to succumb to the threat, and today continued to criticise Perkasa, claiming it was anti-1 Malaysia.

Loh also went further to tell Perkasa to apologise to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, for failing to adhere to the premier’s ideals of 1 Malaysia.

Taking note of this, Arman told The Malaysian Insider today that he would hold another press conference tomorrow and proceed with his plan to “exert pressure” on MCA and Gerakan to expel the two party leaders.

Meanwhile, Dr Chua said the MCA would soon hold a press conference and issue its views on Perkasa, whose formation has caused a ripple in the political scene in Malaysia.

Seen by some to be the conscience of Umno, with its main struggle centred on protecting the rights of Malays, Perkasa has also been deemed to be the thorn in Najib’s increasingly liberal administration.

The verbal sparring between Loh, Teng and Perkasa gave indications that Najib would likely face strong opposition from the non-Malay parties in the BN if he should side with the Malay rights group entirely.

“We will give our statement soon on what we feel about Perkasa. For now, as far as the MCA is concerned, any party member can speak their mind as long as, like I said, they stick to the party rules,” said Dr Chua, before declining to say if the MCA was agreeable to Perkasa’s ideologies.