New Chinese Leadership in Malaysia: The Contest for the MCA and Gerakan Presidency

Abstract

In 2005, party elections were held for the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Gerakan Raykat Malaysia (Gerakan, or Malaysian People's Movement), the two main Chinese-based political parties in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN). These elections were unusual as the challengers for the presidency were strong candidates and the incumbents had to really fight to retain their presidency. This article argues that although party contests will not bring any real change to the political position and direction of the parties concerned, it does mean that party leaders can no longer take for granted that their positions will not be challenged. The trend among Malaysian political parties has been for the top position in a political party to be an uncontested post. This has meant that party leaders stay for long periods at the top, often more than a decade. The strong contests in the MCA and Gerakan also means that the tenure for leaders of Chinese-based political parties in Malaysia may be limited.