00:00Former MCA Vice President T. Lian Keur said the party's support declined after 2004, largely due to the perceived arrogance of its Barca Nacional ally, UMNO, especially after Hishamuddin Hussein's curse-waving act at the 2005 UMNO General Assembly, which angered many non-Malays.
00:19Although Hishamuddin later apologized, T. said the damage contributed to a shift in non-Malays support to the opposition by the 2008 election.
00:27He also pointed to earlier controversies, including Dr. Mahathir Mohamed likening Chinese group Su Chu to communists and the Al-Ma'una cult, and the 2006 retraction of a memorandum by two non-Muslim ministers seeking protections for religious minorities.
00:44Another flashpoint, he said, came in 2018, when tycoon Robert Kwok was accused of funding DAP to topple the BN government, with UMNO's Nasri Aziz refusing to apologize for calling, quote, a pundan.
00:55T. said MCA, despite its loyalty to BN and support for leaders like Mahathir and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, became collateral damage and guilty by association.
01:06His comments came in response to UMNO's Pwadzarkashi, who blamed MCA for its poor GE15 results, claiming BN was not to blame.
01:14T. countered that UMNO must own up to its role in alienating non-Malay voters, and warned that marginalizing allies while moving closer to PH and DAP could destroy BN.
