KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai dismissed the notion that his party is subservient to Umno.
He said Barisan Nasional prides itself on five core values which comprised cooperation, harmony, solidarity, good coordination and unanimity among the component parties.
"We do have differences in opinions every now and them, but when it comes to national policies, we have stayed true to the spirit of 'muafakat' (consensus) and that's how we work together in BN.
"The bigger picture is the future of the country in which BN has proven that it delivers in looking after the interests of all," he told reporters today, adding that MCA has always been accorded mutual respect in the coalition.
Liow, who is also Transport Minister, said there will always be certain quarters which will play up the issue of MCA being a "little brother and bossed around by Umno".
At the same time, he said Umno is the backbone of BN which had contributed much to the country's progress.
He said the nation's attention will be on the upcoming Umno General Assembly, which be will be held from Dec 5 to 9.
"During the Umno General Assembly, a lot of emphasis will be on the country's development.
"Umno will also focus on its teamwork with BN component parties to ensure that BN do well in the upcoming 14th General Election (GE14)," said Liow.
In the last general election in 2013, MCA suffered its worst defeat ever, winning only seven of the 37 parliamentary seats and 11 of the 90 state seats it contested.
It sparked criticism that MCA has become irrelevant and without its voting base, the party cannot do anything much for the Umno and the BN coalition anymore.