By Lim Kit Siang
I could not have agreed more with the MCA President Liow Tiong Lai who had advised UMNO Terengganu Assemblymen that they must “put people first, instead of their personal interests”.

It is very clear what Liow was trying to say when commenting on the former Terengganu Mentri Besar Ahmad Said and two UMNO Assemblymen quitting the party to become independents after attending a Wesak celebration at Wisma Buddhist in Kuala Lumpur today.

Liow said: “The state government cannot be held at ransom. The purpose of us running for elections is to serve the people and we must ensure that the state government continues to do so.”

He hoped that the Barisan Nasional government would take immediate action to stabilise the situation in Terengganu.
The question is whether Liow would “walk the talk”.

Kadir Jasin, former editor of UMNO English-language newspaper, New Straits Times, said the Terengganu crisis caused by the three UMNO assemblymen-turned-independent could be solved if the “price is right”.

It is reported that UMNO deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin is on his way to Terengganu to meet the Terengganu trio who have resigned from Umno ”to find a solution to the current political impasse in the state”.

Ahmad Said, who was supposed to hold a press conference today, has decided to put it off till after Muhyiddin’s meeting.

Has Liow conveyed the MCA’s dismay and opposition to the UMNO leadership being “held to ransom” by the Terengganu trio in the Terengganu State Assembly?

I do not believe there are any Malaysian who thinks that the MCA President would dare to communicate to Muhyhiddin or the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak the MCA opposition or reservation of UMNO leadership being “held to ransom” in having to deal with the Terengganu trio on what would be the “right price” to end the constitutional impasse in Terengganu.

Would Liow dare to say that MCA would oppose any “deal” which Muhyiddin might reach with the Terengganu trio which smacks of the Barisan Nasional being “held to ransom”?

This is because Liow and the MCA leadership are themselves easily “held to ransom” so as not to defend the founding principles of the Merdeka Constitution and the struggle of the early MCA Presidents like Tan Cheng Lock and Tun Tan Siew Sin of Malaysia as a secular democratic nation with a constitution which is incompatible with hudud – all because of the carrot of three Ministers and five Deputy Ministers for MCA dangled by Najib.

MCA dared not contest in the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary by-election for MCA leaders know that the by-election would provide an excellent opportunity for the DAP to expose MCA perfidy and hypocrisy in agreeing to a fundamental change of the 57-year policy of Alliance/Barisan Nasional stand on hudud, from one of rejection of hudud to one of not rejecting hudud, without any whimper of objection from MCA!

If the MCA President and the MCA leaders can be so easily “held to ransom”, what credibility do they have to raise objections to the Terengganu trio holding the Barisan Nasional/UMNO leadership to “ransom”?

One way to cut through all these maze of political perfidy and hypocrisy and the restoration of political integrity is for the holding a new state general elections in Terengganu.

Let MCA openly call for the dissolution of the Terengganu State Assembly and the holding of the Terengganu state general elections to return the mandate to decide the future of the state to the Terengganu voters?