KUALA LUMPUR: The Cabinet is the best platform to deliberate on a proposal to nominate Chinese new villages in Selangor for Unesco World Heritage Site status, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The MCA president said it was best that any discussion on the proposal is held at the Cabinet level.
“We (MCA) are no longer in the Cabinet. We leave it to the wisdom of the ministry (concerned) and the Cabinet to decide what is best for the country as we need to consider the diversity of Malaysians.
“Differences of opinion can be discussed internally during Cabinet meetings.
Any decision should be approved by the Cabinet and follow due process,” he told reporters at the MCA Chinese New Year open house hosted at the party headquarters here on Saturday.
On Feb 1, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming reportedly said plans were being drawn up to nominate Chinese new villages in Selangor as a Unesco World Heritage Site to recognise their cultural and historical significance.
This drew flak from several Umno leaders with its secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki claiming that the move would indirectly affect the position of Malays and bumiputras in the country and that it was also against the Federal Constitution.
Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan, who was at the open house event, agreed that the proposal should be discussed in the Cabinet or debated in Parliament.
He, however, maintained Umno’s stand in rejecting the proposal, saying there was no need to proceed with it.
“It’s not something that is easy since it requires negotiations in the Cabinet and later if necessary at the parliamentary level for debate.
“As such, Umno feels that it is not necessary to proceed with the proposal,” he said.
Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari had earlier said that the proposal should not be turned into a racial issue, adding that the matter was still at the proposal stage.
