Call to defend unity govt in GE16 Zahid’s own view, says Wee

MCA president Wee Ka Siong said any decision made by BN must be through consultation with other components, not unilaterally. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s call for the unity government to be “defended” at the next general election (GE16) is merely his own view, says MCA president Wee Ka Siong.

Wee said no decision had been made at the Barisan Nasional level, as the coalition’s components had yet to discuss the matter.

“For me, that is his personal opinion as the president of Umno. As for MCA, we will not (defend the unity government in GE16).

“Anything that is in the interest of BN must be done through consultation (with all the component parties), not unilaterally,” he said in the latest episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast hosted by Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan.

Wee said that before the last general election, Umno rejected the idea of collaborating with Perikatan Nasional due to overlapping seats between them.

He said the same sentiment exists among the MCA leadership as they have overlapping seats with DAP.

On April 27, Zahid said Umno would support any effort to keep the unity administration in power in GE16, adding that this was for the sake of political stability, economic development and national prosperity.

The BN chairman added that all 18 parties that made up the government bloc had the same goals and must continue fostering harmony to preserve the existing political stability.

When asked about MCA’s stand should Umno decide to defend the unity government, Wee did not reject the possibility of MCA going the opposite direction.

On Nov 24, 2022, the unity government was formed with Anwar Ibrahim at the helm after Pakatan Harapan, Barisan Nasional, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah agreed to work together.

This was after the then Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Al-Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah, reportedly called for the formation of a unity government after five days of a hung Parliament.

However, the relationship between former rivals PH and BN has been testy, with DAP and MCA leaders frequently trading barbs with one another.