End of the road for MCA in Sabah?
It is a blunt signal that for UMNO's survival, MCA has been reduced to a tradable chip—expendable, sacrificial, and no longer essential.
The writing is not just on the wall; it is now shouted aloud: MCA is irrelevant, relegated to a mere passenger clinging to UMNO's wing. One more nail into MCA's coffin? How much louder must the alarm sound?
Yet, MCA leaders appear trapped in paralysis. Instead of seizing direction, they wait for central delegates to decide—but only after the annual general meeting (AGM) at year's end.
Who is actually leading the party—the central leadership elected to act, or delegates who seem to hold the steering wheel by default?
When the ship is going through turbulence, does the captain navigate or wait to consult the sailors first? It has become a chicken-and-egg circus, a party with no head and no tail.
This moment delivers a body blow to MCA's very reason for existence. Its traditional battlefield—the urban constituencies once its lifeline—has been written off and handed wholesale to DAP and PKR.
The rural front, meanwhile, is firmly dominated by UMNO and its Bumiputera allies. MCA is left without a battlefield, a bridge without a river, a passenger abandoned at a bus stop long after the bus has departed.
Nowhere is this humiliation clearer than in Sabah. BN claims the kampungs, PH secures the towns, and MCA is left with nothing—no roots in the villages, no traction in the cities.
The 'end of the road for MCA in Sabah' could well be the first domino of its nationwide obituary. Or in harsher terms: Beginning in Sabah … one down for MCA.
For decades, MCA justified its existence in BN as the bridge to urban and Chinese voters. That bridge has now collapsed.
Unless MCA reinvents itself, it risks being reduced to what many already see it as—a party of posts and satisfied with crumbs, living off appointments instead of seeking mandates.
Ahmad may not have intended it, but he has quietly issued MCA a death certificate. His words may one day be remembered as MCA's quiet political obituary—the final proof that the party has run out of road, and perhaps, out of time.
Even UMNO leaders appear to mock MCA's diminished role. One Supreme Council member highlighted MCA's supposed 'contributions' and is still being included citing the appointment of Nicole Wong as a special officer to the DPM, and another appointed Adun in Pahang.
From a party that once claimed to be the voice of millions, MCA is now reduced to pointing at token appointments as evidence of relevance.
So, where does MCA go from here? The options are brutal:
Remain in BN, even as UMNO openly declares winnable seats like Tanjung Piai are no longer theirs; Attempt to reinvent MCA or by seeking new friends outside BN, an uphill battle for the party; or Or accept its fate as a party of crumbs—senatorships, special officer posts, and political charity doled out by UMNO.
BN may now be morphing into UMDAP, but MCA's dilemma is simpler: Does it walk away with dignity, or fade away? ‒ Aug 20, 2025
Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker is a former MCA vice-president and a former deputy youth and sports minister.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image: Bernama
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