THE move by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to meet the warring factions in efforts to resolve the worsening MCA crisis was lauded by other component parties of Barisan Nasional (BN).

Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon was confident that with Najib, who is also BN chairman, the MCA crisis will be over soon.

“Since the PM is willing to get involved to help settle the matter, let him do his best...I believe the PM will be able to solve the problem soon,” he told reporters after officiating the Exhibition of Malaysia’s Longest Heart Sutra Buddhist Calligraphy in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

When asked whether the current MCA situation would affect the ministers and deputy ministers’ Key Performance Index (KPI) among MCA leaders, Koh said, “not really, give them some time, we are not doing the KPI right now...we are doing it next June”.

Umno Youth vice-chief Datuk Razali Ibrahim said he welcomed the PM’s decision to try and resolve the MCA crisis because the decision was made by the PM himself.

“To prevent the situation from getting worse and which certainly will affect the people’s support for BN, I welcome any effort towards resolving the issue,” he said.

He added that the MCA leadership must also be accommodating in accepting whatever efforts undertaken by component parties to help resolve the crisis amicably.

“What I see...the Prime Minister also sees, that the concentration and focus of ministers and deputy ministers from MCA has been affected. This I feel should not happen because BN’s promise to the people is to serve them after getting elected.

“But what is currently happening is that we are trying to shoulder their duties but such crisis must be resolved quickly,” said Razali, who is also the deputy minister of Youth and Sports.

Umno Information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan said the crisis engulfing MCA, the biggest Chinese party in the country, may derail efforts by Umno to revive the people’s support for BN.

Ahmad Maslan, who is also Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said to become a party to be known as the “people’s champion”, MCA must end the crisis quickly.

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