MCA launches its general election manifesto - a plan for better future

https://youtu.be/e89SFhz_n2Q

KUALA LUMPUR: MCA has unveiled the party's manifesto for the general election, just some 12 hours after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak revealed Barisan Nasional's manifesto on Saturday (April 7) night.

Party president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai outlined MCA's 10 promises and 10 initiatives for the next five years, which will complement Barisan's manifesto.

He said MCA will become the key driver of various initiatives targeting the masses with its main pillar being youth empowerment.

Liow also stressed on the party's commitment towards transforming MCA-established education institutions into a global education hub, the second pillar of MCA's 14th General Election manifesto.

"As MCA's roots still rest with the lower income groups, we must also continue to look after the well being of the people requiring assistance. This is the third pillar, social economic well-being.

"In order for this agenda to succeed, a multi-racial approach must be adopted to tackle various issues that confront the community.

"The party will continue to reach out to understand their needs through active stakeholder engagements," Liow said during the unveiling ceremony at Wisma MCA here on Sunday morning.

This is the first time MCA is having its own manifesto for the general election.

MCA's 10 promises are:

1. Safeguard moderation - Uphold the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara

2. Ensure checks and balances - Represent the constitutional rights of Malaysian Chinese and other communities

3. Youth and women empowerment - New businesses, jobs and training opportunities - Appoint
youth and women into key positions - Reskilling youths for digital revolution

4. Enhance the quality of Chinese education - Committed towards recognising the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) - Systematic approach in construction of new SJK(C)s and allocations

5. Setting forth education in the world stage - Modernise and globalise education through UTAR, TARUC and Vtar

6. Harnessing the Belt and Road Initiative - Connectivity with China and Asean - Open up trade opportunities in China

7. Digital economy and innovation - Help SMEs ride on wave of e-commerce

8. Quantum leap in business and finance - Establish the Kojadi Co-operative Bank - Enhance the functions of the Secretariat For the Advancement Of Malaysian Entrepreneurs (SAME)

9. Neo-urbanised townships - Transforming new villages

10. Accessible healthcare - Establish UTAR Hospital with Western and complementary medicine

MCA's 10 initiatives are: 
 

1. Establish a Central Monitoring Unit

- monitor fair and effective implementation of government policies

2. Global and regional connectivity

- MCA Belt and Road Centre to strengthen ties with China
- make Malaysia a gateway to China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Asean

3. Establish a Digital Economy and Innovation Council
- gather feedback for formulation of policies and legislation

4. World class tertiary education
- UTAR to set up teaching hospital in Kampar

5. Developing the next generation
- transform TARUC into full-fledged technical university

6. Technical and vocational education training
- expand Vtar Institute into a well-equipped TVET development and training institution

7. Wealth generation for SMEs and lower and middle income groups
- introduce an investment scheme for Malaysian Chinese

8. Neo-urbanised townships
- stimulate and modernise new villages

9. Protecting welfare of women, children and the elderly
- champion the progress of women in Malaysia
- help stateless Malaysians get citizenship
- ensure enforcement of legislation against paedophiles

10. Continue outreach services for the community through the:
- Public Services and Complaints Bureau
- Chang Ming Thien Foundation
- 1MCA Medical Foundation
- Legal Advisory and Women’s Aid Centre

A plan for better future

Manifesto aims to lessen burdens the community faces now

KUALA LUMPUR: The rising cost of living and the widening income gap are what the public is most concerned about these days, says Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

The MCA president said the urgency of the situation prompted MCA to come out with specific actions to address it in the next five years.

These actions are listed out in MCA’s 14th General Election Manifesto with 10 promises and 10 initiatives which the party must implement, he added.

Ready for battle: Liow, MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong and other senior party leaders at the launch of the manifesto at Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur. — SAM THAM/The Star

“This also needs the support of the Government, including allocations for execution.

“The MCA’s performance in this election will have a direct impact on the party’s efforts to help the people,” Liow said when launching the manifesto at Wisma MCA here yesterday.

On GE14, Liow said voters aged between 21 and 35 made up 45% of total voters.

“The youth play an important role in the country’s economic development and democracy,” he said when outlining the manifesto, which focuses on steps to help the people, especially youth, to progress.

Full turnout: MCA members listening to Liow’s presentation of the manifesto for GE14 during the launch at the Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur.

It spans education, training, jobs, business and investment opportunities.

Saying that the MCA’s political struggle is for the long haul, Liow assured the people that the party would not make empty promises to fish for votes.

On that note, Liow said it was important to not only address current issues but also to create favourable conditions for the Chinese community’s youth to face new challenges.

“There will be major changes in the global economy, labour market and business.

“The digital revolution will not only encourage the growth of a new economy but also change the lifestyle of future generations.

“The youth of today will dominate in this major change,” he said.

Saying that education is the foundation of every nation, he pointed out that the 69-year-old MCA’s role in the sector has evolved to meet changing times, from pre-school to primary school, vocational training to tertiary education.

Liow and MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (left) with the manifesto booklet.

Singling out the party’s 16-year-old Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), which is ranked second in Malaysia after Universiti Malaya by Times Higher Education, he said it is in the process of setting up its teaching hospital in Kampar, Perak.

“UTAR Hospital is set to be a premier healthcare institution that combines modern and complementary medicine like traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda,” he said of the party’s promise to provide accessible and quality healthcare to the rakyat.

In confronting global competition and pressure from the rising cost of living, Liow said MCA promises to open up more economic opportunities, including setting up Kojadi Co-operative Bank with branches in various states to provide financing for young entrepreneurs and small to medium enterprises.

“Times have changed. While we face more challenges, we also encounter more development opportunities,” he said of how the party consistently works hard to help the community brave the changing times.

On the country’s 465 new villages set up by the British colonial government with MCA’s help during the Emergency (1948-1960) to cut contacts between the Chinese community and communists of the era, Liow said those “barbed-wire” settlements have evolved over the decades.

He said MCA has drawn up plans for a digital revolution in these villages to rejuvenate them.

Sources: The Star, by foong pek yee, tho xin yi, and royce tan

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Small town, big names in Bentong war part 2, Malaysian election fever

Felda scheme with a potent voice

Meeting the people: Liow speaking during an NGO dinner in Bentong.

 

Lurah Bilut stands tall as the nation’s first Felda scheme, pioneered by settlers from all races from different parts of the country.

LURAH BILUT is just about 19km away from Bentong. It is a huge piece of fertile land located near Sungai Bilut and the Kelau forest reserve.

It is safe to say that most Malaysians, especially those staying in the cities, have never heard of this place and have no reason to come here.

But Lurah Bilut is not only the first Felda scheme in the country but one that was pioneered by settlers from all races after independence.

In this 12,920-acre (5,228ha) enclave, located within the Bentong parliamentary constituency, there are Malays, Chinese, Indians and the Orang Asli, and their children can go to either the national school or the national-type schools where the medium is in Chinese or Tamil.

The scheme was opened in 1957 and each settler was given 10 acres (4ha) of land. According to records, the first batch of settlers who entered the scheme on Aug 2, 1959, was from Datuk Keramat, Kuala Lumpur. They were brought into the area by bus and were shocked to find themselves in a jungle.

One Chinese settler, who arrived here in 1959 from Negri Sembilan with just his clothes on his back, was given tools to hack away at the dense growth, according to one report. There is one road here called Jalan Pulau Pinang, because the settlers came from Penang.

As with everything that is new and untested, the settlers had to be imbued with a sense of adventure. Certainly they could not foresee the success that Felda would turn out to be eventually. Thus these early settlers in Lurah Bilut came to be known as the Pioneering Bulls and have become some kind of a legend in this Felda scheme.

Felda was set up to eradicate rural poverty through the use of effective agricultural methods to cultivate cash crops such as rubber and oil palm. In recent years, there has also been special emphasis on diversification to deal with the fluctuations in commodity prices.

On my visit to this Felda scheme, it was clear that many were eager to share their experiences with me. There is a sense of pride over what has taken place here.

Strategising: Wong meeting with his team of campaigners at his service centre in Bentong.
 

I am sitting at a restaurant opposite the Lurah Bilut Chinese school where the Barisan Nasional campaigners are having their lunch break.

A vegetarian meal has been prepared for incumbent MP Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and as he sat down at the table, the MCA deputy president invited those at the table to share his vegetarian dishes.

But many jokingly told him that they would take his share of meat instead, a joke which he has heard many times.

The Bentong parliamentary seat which Liow won with a 12,585 majority when he polled 51,340 votes against his PKR opponent R. Ponusamy’s 12,585 votes is regarded as a safe seat for the Barisan Nasional.

The current electorate of 62,400 voters comprise 43.9% Chinese, 44.6% Malays, 9.4% Indians, 0.5% Orang Asl and the rest, others.

Liow is expected to deliver this seat to the BN but no one is taking any chances this time because of the perception that the Chinese sentiments against the BN are very strong, even in Bentong where they have always been traditionally pro-BN.

Even the Bilut state seat, held by the MCA, is under threat from the Pakatan Rakyat. Liow has to work extra hard to campaign for 36-year-old Leong Kim Soon, who is contesting this seat. Leong’s grand uncle is the late Tan Sri Chan Siang Sun, who was the legendary MP for Bentong.

Leong, who is the political secretary to Liow, is facing DAP’s Chow Yu Hui.

In this rural setting, the two have gone from door to door, under the hot afternoon sun, to shake the hands of every voter.

Said a campaigner: “This is a crucial area as it is racially mixed and we want to cover as much ground as possible.”

Unlike the Felda schemes in Johor, especially, where Pakatan Rakyat candidates are literally chased away by the settlers, the PR workers have been able to put up their flags and banners, an indication that a fight is at hand.

In the Bentong town centre, Liow’s challenger is Wong Tack, who made a name for himself as the anti-Lynas campaigner. In his green T-shirt, Wong was raising environment issues but his credentials have taken a knock after he was exposed as the owner of a 1,000-acre (404ha) oil palm estate in Sabah.



Wong also had to fend off the revelation that he held Canadian permanent residence status, explaining that it was cancelled by the Canadian authorities because he did not go back to the country.

But the BN campaigners have been hammering on that issue, questioning why there was a need for him to collect donations at every ceramah when he is pretty well off financially.

They asked how many of the voters, especially settlers, could even dream of owning 1,000 acres of land and if they knew how much money had been collected so far.

But Wong seems undeterred by these issues, saying he was well-prepared to challenge Liow for Bentong,

and also Mentri Besar Datuk Adnan Yaacob, who is contesting in the Pelangai state seat, under Bentong.
Wong’s campaigners, mostly youngsters, are visibly seen in town, especially at the market, where they aggressively tell voters to go for change.

One Universiti Malaya student said she had volunteered to canvass votes for Wong because she had been actively involved in the anti-Lynas campaign.

“My belief in him remains the same. I will still support him and the DAP, nothing will change my stand,’’ the third-year student said. She said her parents knew that she was campaigning and wholeheartedly supported her.

Her friends, many eager to express their views, said they were using their own expenses to stay in Bentong.

At the Bentong Jaya coffeeshop, the discussions focus on the sentiments of the Chinese, swayed by DAP’s talk that Pakatan Rakyat would take over the Federal Government. Only a few were cautiously warning about the implications of the Chinese voting themselves out of the government.

A businessman from Kuala Lumpur said he had been trying to explain to some Chinese voters that while their sentiments are pro-Pakatan, the majority of Malays would be backing Barisan.

“The huge crowd at DAP ceramah can be deceiving because the Malay style of campaigning, in Felda areas, is to have small get-together sessions, prayers at the suraus and house to house visits. As these are not visible, the Chinese think the huge crowd means PR would take over,” he said.

In Bentong, the local dialect is Kwong Sai, which originates from Guangxi province in southern China. As we continued with our drinks, the locals at the neighbouring tables were listening attentively.

The politicians and campaigners have been doing all the talking so far but come May 5, the voters will be doing the talking via the ballot box. The stand of the majority in Bentong would be known then.

On the GE13 Beat
By WONG CHUN WAI

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