MCA insists Sivakumar must go on leave, contradicting Anwar’s stance such need doesn’t arise

WHETHER it is appropriate to describe MCA as ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ to the unity government is as good as anybody’s guess but the party has obviously not toed the line insofar as officially insisting that Human Resources (HR) Minister V Sivakumar should go on leave is concerned.

Even if the call is made in the name of justice regardless of one’s stature, principally this runs afoul with the camaraderie spirit within the unity government in which MCA is a component party of Barisan Nasional (BN) which forms key alliance with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to jointly spearhead the coalition.

For the record, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has openly expressed that it is premature to ask the Batu Gajah MP to take leave for Sivakumar had only been summoned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for his statement as opposed to being detained or arrested.

But MCA begs to differ.

“Considering the arrest of two of Sivakumar’s senior officers and one of his private secretaries recently as well as Sivakumar himself being called in for questioning, he should rightfully go on leave for the time being – not only to cooperate in the investigations but also to prevent jeopardising the unity government’s image,” spokesman Mike Chong Yew Chuan pointed out in a statement.

Mike Chong Yew Chuan (Pic credit: The Star)

“As members of the unity government, Sivakumar and his colleagues in DAP should understand that the image of the unity government is directly linked to the current state of affairs – the image of DAP ministers and of DAP MPs will affect the public’s perception of the government.”

Chong who is the former special officer to MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong further urged for Sivakumar “to go on leave pending investigation, and to offer full cooperation to MACC until the investigation is concluded”.

“Simultaneously, Sivakumar’s colleague in DAP should also support him to do so as a responsible statesman,” he noted.

“In the past, when the unity government appointed a leader with many ongoing court cases as minister, it invited much criticism from the public which ultimately affected the government’s image. Therefore, we reiterate that HR Minister Sivakumar should go on leave for the time being to give his full cooperation to MACC and the police.”

Apart from being a former staffer of Wee, the 39-year-old Chong who is a civil engineer by training had also contested under the BN ticket for the Cheras parliamentary constituency during the 15th General Election (GE15) but lost his deposit after losing to seven-term DAP’s incumbent Tan Kok Wai who polled 60,296 votes to his 5,606 votes. – April 19, 2023

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