IT probably takes an idealistic or Madani diehard Chinese to concur with Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who recently proclaimed that he would rather befriend DAP than MCA as the former is “safer, better and has more integrity”.
Alas, that statement made on the eve of the Johor state election can be debated or holds little credibility if pitted against the final outcome of the polls – not only had Barisan Nasional (BN) improved its scoreline to 48-8 from 40-16 previously, MCA outshone its nemesis for the first time in at least a decade with a 8-6 scoreline.
Against that seemingly MCA resurrection, politically-inclined Threader hengahbah has expressed one sentiment that probably many Baby Boomer and Gen X Malaysian Chinese have noticed”: “DAP don’t give opportunities. They only give speeches”.
“(On the contrary), MCA leaders cooperate with Malays in BN create business opportunities,” he quipped in a reactionary post following MCA’s ‘unexpected’ revival.
“Malays leaders open up investments, Chinese get job and businesses. So after PH in Putrajaya for few years, business is slow, restaurants closed and people look for change.”
Fellow Chinese Threader unclemerdeka partially agreed by contending that “my choice of vote depends on my priority whether I value the country more or my own finance more”.
“Malays don’t know about this but for us, BN is much easier for business,” echoed the senior citizen.
That’s why back then before 2008, many of the diehard MCA supporters were actually rich people, like I said, again, it’s easy to do business.
If you still don’t understand, yes I’m talking about cronyism. Now, I’m not saying MCA today is still the same.
But one thing for sure, whether to choose MCA or any other party, it really comes down to what is my priority – myself or my country first?
However, one Sabahan Chinese concurred with hengahbah given that explained the rejection of DAP by the Sabah Chinese community which eventually led to the party’s 8-0 drubbing in the recent state polls.
“They don’t look after the welfare of Sabah Chinese … instead, we choose to support local Sabah-based parties such as Warisan,” he justified.
Even a non-Chinese retiree claimed that “BN has traditionally been more pragmatic and better at balancing the interests of Malays and non-Malays”.
“DAP as part of PH (Pakatan Harapan) is sometimes perceived as taking positions that create greater polarisation, making it harder to build broad consensus,” observed the self-proclaimed gaming veteran.
For me, what matters most is not political speeches but whether the government can attract investment, create jobs, help businesses grow and improve people’s livelihoods.
When the economy is strong, everyone benefits regardless of race. That’s why I believe a more moderate and consensus-based approach is better for Malaysia.
However, one seemingly DAP loyalist begged to differ by stressing that
“Malaysia is broke (because), BN under Najib is taking money and throwing money everywhere [sic]”.
“So things move but country in greater debt [sic]. PH tries to stop the debt by reducing spending and deficit for long term benefits. Most people only interested in short term gain,” he jibed.
But one real estate specialist concurred with the flow, alluding to his “mostly Chinese clients selling their commercial estate due to businesses affected”.
“They said business not as good as before. Even property in quite good ROI (return on investment) also they’re looking to dispose [sic],” he revealed.
As one presumably Indian entrepreneur aptly put it, “SMEs are really suffering under this government” from so-called half-baked policies in the likes of e-invoicing and SST (sales and services tax) that “once implemented they U turn”, thus causing great inconvenience and monetary losses to the entrepreneurial fraternity.
At the end of the day, there are two sides to the coin which one commenter sarcastically described as “DAP open business for China mainland, MCA open business for locals”. – July 14, 2026
