Every now and then, the questions of “What now?” and “What’s next for MCA?” seem to pop up in the media and political market.

But if you follow the social media, MCA is “written off” and supposedly “irrelevant.”

This is the created perception in all social media comments planted by cybertroopers of a certain party.

The truth is that the concern is not about MCA but more so about the future of Chinese Malaysians in a political ecosystem that’s slowly marginalizing them after GE14, when the Pakatan government under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad expanded the voters to introduce Undi18, allowing 18-year-olds to be voters automatically.

This has in effect marginalized the Chinese voters further as the number or ratio of Malay voter base increases further vis-à-vis the Chinese votes.

The recent GE15 shows a paradigm shift of voters voting for PAS, with the biggest number of 43 MPs, and DAP as the second largest with 40 MPs, making it the biggest party in the Madani government under PMX Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Despite DAP being the biggest party in the Unity Government supported by 90 percent of Chinese voters, further political rewards or premiums didn’t come their way.

Instead, the urgency and immediate need to buy in Malay votes to sustain or continue the rule by the Madani government is obviously a necessity.

Thus, the omnipotence of Malay votes is a political reality, as the Madani government realized that there’s a need to increase their fill of Malay votes.

It is this political reality that forced DAP to do an about-turn from “Asalkan Bukan Umno” or “ABU” to embrace Umno and promote UMDAP today.

The reality of buying in Malay votes to strengthen the core and lay a solid political foundation is necessary and a reality in Malaysian politics today, especially after the demographic vote base change of Undi18.

Many, including the media, are interested to see how long BN will stand or remain intact now that Umno is warming up and getting cozier by the day with DAP.

Leaving Barisan Nasional now will be a no-brainer and totally “irresponsible,” as BN is an extension of the Alliance with the political ethos and intent of bridging and bringing together different ethnic and racial groups in Malaysia, aiming for a harmonious society.

The spirit of inclusiveness, consensus building and accommodation of all Malaysians has been historically dominant and practiced by BN towards a stable political environment crucial for attracting investment and fostering growth at a time when neighboring countries were at war or facing domestic political instability.

The reverse is now happening where neighboring countries are politically more stable

Thus, leaving Barisan Nasional now is akin to abandoning a sinking ship and destroying the political legacy founded by our founding fathers, Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Sambanthan.

The spirit of trust and bonding was so strong then that Tun Sambanthan also served as the acting prime minister on August 3. 1973.

However, MCA going solo in the next general election is also in the cards.

This does not mean the party MCA would be abandoning Barisan Nasional, as it would be “irresponsible” to leave the coalition when BN is facing its worst political challenges.

However, MCA is losing its relevance as a result of the disillusionment of the minorities, and the Chinese in particular, who are no longer buying race-based political parties, and Umno’s stronghold on Malay voters is no longer there.

In fact, Umno’s Malay votes are at best at 23 percent as compared to Perikatan Nasional’s more than half in the previous election.

This is definitely insufficient to carry forth BN and component party candidates to victory anymore.

On the other hand, Pakatan Harapan’s Malay voters’ share is even less, thus the need to add to Umno’s Malay vote base to add color to the Pakatan-helmed Madani government.

Without Umno’s voter base, the Madani government will continue to be questioned and may not seem politically legitimate in the eyes of the Malays.

It would be reckless for MCA to quit BN now, which was founded on the spirit of multiculturalism, accommodation and inclusiveness. It would appear as if MCA had abandoned this political conviction and legacy founded by our founding fathers.

By and large, race and religious politics are entrenched in Malaysians’ voting patterns.

The political realities of race and religion-based politics are here to stay, as evidenced by the growing popularity of PAS and the emergence of new Malay parties like Bersatu, Amanah, Pejuang, etc.

The new political trend is the elimination or diminishing role of political parties of the minorities such as MCA and MIC, with the exception of Sabah and Sarawak-based parties.

On the one hand, there’s an emergence of race- and religion-based parties competing for the bulk of the Malay votes with Undi18. The reality is that the Malay votes are and may now be temporarily divided, and the minority votes are temporarily “the kingmakers.”

However, it is the Malay votes that will be the real “kingmakers” in the end. Thus, the real chase is still the Malay votes.

The emergence of Malay dominance and the possible unity of a coalition of Malay parties will one day prevail and be a political reality.

There’s no denial that the Malays are not forgoing racial or religious politics, and no prime minister wannabe and “wanna stay” will dare to ignore this political reality of the Malay political acceptance to continue ruling.

Even today, PMX and the Madani government are hinging on Umno to retain and improve their support among the Malays by creating more buy-ins, political optics and narratives towards grooming, harvesting, and capturing the Malay votes through their hearts and minds.

When I say “temporarily,” I mean and foresee the divide amongst Malay parties won’t be for long and will be over when one party or coalition of parties triumphantly wins over the others.

Alternatively, they will be forced to form a coalition of Malay parties when the Malay voters are getting lethargic or frustrated with the ongoing bickering and nitpicking or political polemics amongst these parties.

The coalition of Malay parties is a very possible political scenario one day.

This will be happening when Umno fails to deliver the Malay votes to the Madani government. And DAP or PKR may then be seeking new Malay parties to hinge on.

Similarly, Umno will then be exploring new opportunities and partnerships with their remaining MPs by then.

Will MCA or MIC have any elected MPs by then?

Who and what is to guarantee that Umno won’t form a united Malay coalition with PAS and Bersatu to champion Malay interests if they fail in the Madani government?

If this is to happen, it is not MCA or MIC becoming irrelevant, but the Chinese and the Indian communities in particular politically sidelined further as DAP and PKR are multiracial parties?

They cannot turn into communal parties overnight, can they?

In the context of the party, going solo would see MCA asserting its own direction, seeking “new friends” and political cooperation in view of the fact that members are increasingly feeling they have been left in the lurch by BN lynchpin Umno.

MCA members are of the view that Umno is currently partial to DAP, which has been MCA’s bitter political rival.

However, it would be reckless for MCA to quit BN now, which was founded on the spirit of multiculturalism, accommodation and inclusiveness. It would appear as if MCA had abandoned this political conviction and legacy founded by our founding fathers.

BN’s emphasis is on tolerance, consensus building and co-existence, a principle put into practice after Malaya achieved independence and subsequently the formation of Malaysia.

Therefore, it will be irresponsible for MCA to leave BN without first trying to safeguard these principles and practices.

These are the principles BN stood for, and it will be wrong to do so after reaping decades of political stability and growth from here.

Therefore, MCA must remain in BN to ensure that this spirit continues and lives on with the hope that it is acknowledged, adopted and endorsed by the Unity Government openly.

In a quick, simple answer to the many queries on the future of MCA, I am of the opinion that MCA must not quit BN for now.

However, the party needs a “reset” and to be prepared to stand on its own in the event Umno opts to collaborate with DAP in the long run by sacrificing MCA.

The fact is that DAP can never be a Chinese party to replace MCA. Neither can DAP be an Indian party to replace MIC. So how can Umno sell off the Chinese and Indian seats solely to DAP?

 (Dato’ Seri Ti Lian Ker was a former deputy minister from MCA.)