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

For the position of deputy president, one had to secure 20 per cent nominations, 10 per cent for the vice-presidency, and for a position in the UMNO Majlis Tertinggi (Supreme Council), a candidate must get at least 5 per cent of nominations from all party divisions (UMNO Constitution, Section 9.5). Mahathir's retirement was a watershed in Malaysian politics and MCA and Gerakan members saw the 2005 party elections as an opportunity to remind the leaders that they would not tolerate long-serving leaders á Ia Mahathir. Issues such as Chinese education will be presented as Malaysian issues, that is, it is beneficial for Malaysians from all ethnic groups to support Mandarin education given the trade opportunities presented by China in the coming century.