MCA: It was a multi-racial effort that won independence
PETALING JAYA: The country’s independence was forged through the close cooperation of leaders of the Alliance party and was not the sole effort of Umno, said MCA central committee member Lee Wei Kiat.
He pointed out that it was the leaders of MCA, Umno and MIC in the Alliance, which preceded Barisan Nasional before Merdeka, who were all influential in negotiating with the British for independence.
“MCA will not allow efforts from any party in trying to rewrite facts of history or denying the efforts of the other races in helping to fight for the country’s independence 52 years ago,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Lee was commenting on Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein’s statement at the party general assembly that the process of independence and later developments were forged by “Umno and our Malay Rulers and no one else”.
Lee said: “If we look back at history in 1954, Tunku Abdul Rahman led a three-man Alliance delegation comprising himself, Tun Abdul Razak and Tan Sri T.H. Tan from the MCA to England to hold talks with the colonial authority.”
He said that Tunku Abdul Rahman also led an Alliance delegation to London to hold independence talks with the British with MCA represented by Tun H.S. Lee and Tan.
Lee, who is MCA information and communications bureau chairman, said the negotiations led to mutual consent for a draft constitution.
“We hope that Hishammuddin’s remarks are not aimed at gaining political mileage for himself after winning the Umno vice-presidency on March 26,” Lee said.
He urged the minister to show that he was a leader of all Malaysians and not just an Umno leader.
“Any deviation in history will not only affect the country’s harmony currently enjoyed by the various races but also hinder the government’s efforts in fostering racial unity between different ethnic groups,” he said.
He said Malaysian children must understand clearly that all races had to be equally recognised for their efforts and contributions to the country’s development. --- The Star
Revise your Malaysian History: - Chinese reaction against the MCP was shown by the formation of the
Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) in 1949 as a vehicle for moderate Chinese political opinion. Its leader,
Tan Cheng Lock, favoured a policy of collaboration with UMNO to win Malayan independence on a policy of equal citizenship, but with sufficient concessions to Malay sensitivities to ease nationalist fears. Tan formed a close collaboration with Tunku (Prince)
Abdul Rahman, the Chief Minister of Kedah and from 1951 successor to Datuk Onn as leader of UMNO. Since the British had announced in 1949 that Malaya would soon become independent whether the Malayans liked it or not, both leaders were determined
to forge an agreement their communities could live with as a basis for a stable independent state. The
UMNO-MCA Alliance (which was later joined by the
Malayan Indian Congress (MIC)),
won convincing victories in local and state elections in both Malay and Chinese areas between 1952 and 1955.
--- History of Malaysia
