The Barisan Nasional leadership should take drastic measures including setting up a high-level committee to study the reasons, implications and consequences of the reducing support of the Chinese community as portrayed in the Hulu Selangor by-election result.

Gerakan vice-president Datuk Mah Siew Keong said an in depth study was needed to address the issue and more importantly to act on whatever concrete solutions proposed expediently.

“Hulu Selangor is not an urban seat and development and infrastructure are still needed. So, to receive only 25% support of Chinese votes there is clearly a cause of great concern,” said Datuk Mah in a statement.

“We need to ask ourselves why the Chinese support keeps on reducing after last general elections. Is it because some component parties in the BN like MCA and Gerakan are seen as weak and ineffective in tackling the Chinese community’s woes? Or is it due to the perceived over-dominance of UMNO and the occasional racial statements made by UMNO leaders?”

Datuk Mah said if the worrying trend of reducing support was allowed to continue unabated, then the effectiveness and credibility of BN as a political coalition that claims to represent all Malaysians would be called into question.

He said the BN leadership must be brave and bite the bullet in order to regain the support of the Chinese community.