After 7 decades with Umno, loyal ally MCA mulls over going separate ways

KUALA LUMPUR – Ongoing divisional meetings of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) are set to decide if the founding member of Malaysia’s longest-ruling alliance will move to part ways with Umno at the party’s annual general assembly, expected as soon as October.

This comes amid grumbles by MCA grassroots of being jilted by Umno – the dominant force in the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition – in favour of the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which is currently far more popular among the ethnic Chinese electorate.

DAP has the most seats – 40 – in Parliament of any ruling party and is a key member of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan (PH) alliance, which leads a multi-coalition government that includes BN.

MCA and DAP previously clashed in seats with a significant Chinese electorate but MCA has only two MPs.

BN chief and Umno president Zahid Hamidi is also deputy premier in the so-called unity government formed after the November 2022 General Election

resulted in a hung Parliament

.

A divorce between Umno and MCA will have wide ramifications in Malaysia’s swiftly shifting political landscape, by undercutting BN’s multiracial outlook.

Further, should MCA form a pact with the largely Malay-Muslim nationalist Perikatan Nasional (PN), it will bolster the opposition coalition’s

own aspirations to be more representative of Malaysia’s ethnic diversity

.

The Straits Times has learnt that MCA president Wee Ka Siong told top leaders to use the divisional meetings that began on June 1 to propose whether it should remain in BN and on what terms.

When contacted, Datuk Seri Wee confirmed that divisional delegate assemblies will “talk about the future and direction of the party”, although he refused to “anticipate or make a conclusion now” on what the 191 MCA divisions nationwide will propose.

He called the discussions at the divisions a “very normal” process before the national annual general meeting to decide on “what are the things that need to be done”.

According to party officials, the various scenarios being mulled over at the top levels go beyond simply maintaining the status quo or leaving BN and charting its own path.

If MCA chooses to exit BN, it could also form a new alliance with smaller parties, such as the existing pact between Malaysian United Democratic Alliance – founded by former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman – and the Socialist Party of Malaysia.

Or it might choose to even join PN, led by former premier Muhyiddin Yassin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia.

The sentiment from early divisional meets in the first half of June – largely from the traditional stronghold states of Johor and Pahang – has pointed towards calling for BN to part ways with PH once elections are called.

“A Johor state election needs to be held by 2027, a year before national polls, but there’s growing talk that it could be held as early as next year (2026),” a top-ranking official told ST.

“Johor MCA so far appears to want BN to contest on its own, as the coalition remains strong there and won a two-thirds majority in the last round of the Johor state elections in 2022.”

Johor is the only state in Malaysia whose entire Cabinet is controlled by BN, whereas six others are jointly governed by a mix of PH and BN leaders.

However, Dr Wee insisted that “every state (MCA) has different characteristics, (but) as a national party, we cannot say, ‘For this state we have this policy, for another state, a different policy’. It has to be a collective decision”.

The soul-searching in MCA comes amid discussion on reversing its diminishing influence, a far cry from its heyday when it controlled the powerful Finance Ministry until 1974.

As recently as 2008, it had 31 MPs to DAP’s 12.

An MCA resolution for BN to end its electoral pact with PH – where the two coalitions avoided clashing in the same seats and often campaigned for each other’s candidates – would leave the ball in the court of BN chairman Zahid. He is very much

in favour of continuing to partner with PH

.

The latest incident that jarred MCA-Umno relations came during the Ayer Kuning by-election in Perak state in April, when DAP deputy chairman Nga Kor Ming was joined by Umno campaigners in chanting “Umdap mantap”.

The chant was seen as an attempt to normalise what was previously a derogatory portmanteau of the two former bitter rivals.

The “Umdap” term is often used by opposition figures to suggest that both Umno and the DAP have betrayed their principles and supporters by working together; but it rhymes with the Malay word “mantap”, meaning “solid”.

“We can see that Umno is cooperating well with DAP and (Anwar’s) Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), while MCA seems to be treated as if it does not exist,” Kuantan MCA chief Ti Lian Ker, a former party vice-president, said in a March podcast.

He is among several senior figures who are concerned about the party’s relevance within the BN framework, saying that “it is becoming increasingly apparent we are going to be left out” at the next general election, due by early 2028.

In April, MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon also stressed the need for decisive action, with BN having been given more than two years to recalibrate after the last election.

Although MCA’s sway among the Chinese – who make up about a fifth of Malaysian voters – has greatly diminished in the past two decades, its presence in BN symbolises the coalition’s multicultural nature, giving the coalition legitimacy to rule over the wide-ranging demographics of the country.

BN – including its initial incarnation as the alliance consisting of Umno, MCA and the Malaysian Indian Congress before expanding to include other parties post-independence in 1957 – ruled the nation for six decades uninterrupted until its

shock defeat at the 2018 General Election

to PH.

But defections from PKR triggered a change of government that saw

BN returning to power in 2020

. The BN coalition has since remained a minority member of the federal administration.

Top opposition figures have told ST that informal discussions to woo not just MCA, but also the Malaysian Indian Congress, out of BN have been ongoing since 2023.

In that year, these two parties opted to sit out polls to decide new governments in six states. This came amid a flap over seat allocations, with Umno seemingly negotiating directly with Datuk Seri Anwar’s PH, and leaving its long-term coalition partners out of the talks. 

Over 100 MCA members, including former youth secretary-general Leong Kim Soon, quit the party in early 2025 to join the opposition Bersatu.