KUALA LUMPUR: Rembau parliamentarian Khairy Jamaluddin has mooted a suggestion for Barisan Nasional (BN) to cooperate with new component parties in regaining support from the Chinese community.
According to Khairy, this was because MCA appears to have lost their 'touch' in regaining Chinese support for BN since after the 12th General Election in 2008.
At the same time, he said MCA's attitude that showed its disinterest to continue being in BN as well as their unrealistic requests for Umno, including the matter of cooperation with PAS, needed to be looked at closely.
"We need (component parties) that can together strengthen the party. Maybe we need to have other Chinese component parties since MCA is getting more unpopular.
"Maybe others can enter BN to strengthen our support amongst the Chinese. If MCA is no longer interested in us, thank you, we will find others.
"If MCA wants to remain with us, sit and discuss how we can strengthen BN," he said after officiating children's gymnasium We Rock The Spectrum, at the Melawati Mall, here, today.
Khairy said this in commenting on the statement made by Kluang MCA division chief Gan Ping Sieu who said leaving BN should be an option for MCA.
This, as a show of protest towards the cooperation between Umno and PAS since the Sungai Kandis by-election.
Labeling Gan's suggestion as unrealistic, Khairy urged for MCA to focus on strengthening their party instead of pointing fingers at other component parties for their own failure to garner support from the Chinese community.
"Yes we are cooperating with PAS but not in an official framework like what we have in BN. In these few years, we are not setting what type of cooperation we are having with PAS. We are still in BN and we want to strengthen it.
"It is easy for them (MCA) to point their fingers at Umno or other parties, but don't forget, MCA only has one seat in Parliament.
"Yes there are weaknesses in BN, but don't forget that MCA too must overcome their main problem which is no longer having the support from the Chinese community.
"I suggest MCA to reflect upon themselves and their own weaknesses before pointing fingers at other component parties," he added.
In a separate development, Khairy said he is of the opinion that the best way to manage political funding is by being open and transparent.
"Meaning, any party that receives political funding must follow the law, reveal the source of the donation.
"This is done in developed countries, political donations must be registered and details of who and where the donations came from are revealed to the public," he said in commenting on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement that Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties are still looking for the best formula to obtain political funding without any elements of corruption present.