Nazri says MCA is free to leave Barisan Nasional. — Picture by Miera Zulyana

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — MCA should just leave Barisan Nasional (BN) like other former component parties, Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz said today.

Nazri, who is also BN secretary-general, said MCA should follow the footsteps of previous BN component parties like Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia and several Sarawak-based parties if they did not like BN.

“MCA in our coalition? I thought they wanted to dissolve BN and in the previous by-election, they contested in Balakong under their own party banner.

“Constructively they are not part of BN because they do not agree with us,” he told reporters during a press conference in Menara Dato Onn, PWTC here.

The Padang Rengas MP also revealed that MCA had not formally explained its position in the coalition after its party central committee unanimously voted to dissolve BN during MCA’s 65th General Assembly on Dec 2.

“Honestly I do not understand what they are up to. I do not know. I think they need to explain to us,” he said.

Nazri said it must be understood that there is a convention in BN whereby any proposals or suggestions is brought to the BN supreme council if there is an opposing party.

“But as you do know also that two other parties in the coalition — Umno and MIC — who do not agree with BN’s dissolution, so this becomes an academic question.

“Whether you call a meeting or not it does not matter because it will not happen,” he added, saying there has been no meeting on the matter to date.

He pointed out that there were more urgent matters to deal with at present, such as the Semenyih by-election and the upcoming Rantau by-election.

“To me if they want to leave, just leave lah. What is there to dissolve or not?

“Maybe when we have free time, we will call a meeting to formalise things but at this moment there are more important matters at hand to deal with,” he said.