KUALA LUMPUR: MCA president Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong said his party is committed to providing checks and balances to the government despite challenges from its allies within the unity government.
Speaking at the Barisan Nasional (BN) Golden Jubilee celebration, Wee said this as MCA has been the backbenchers in the government and the opposition before.
"We in BN must not allow ourselves to be bullied.
"Never tolerate being bullied. We have been the government and the opposition before. We must respect differing opinions.
"We remain committed to playing our role to the fullest by upholding democracy, including serving as checks and balances to the government," he said.
Wee, however, said certain leaders within the government bloc failed to understand the essence of democracy.
He cited an incident where Kampar member of parliament Chong Zhemin wanted him referred to the parliament's rights and privileges committee.
"As part of the government, should we remain silent when mistakes are being made?
"We aim to ensure that BN remains vibrant and principled.
"If something is wrong, we correct it, that's all," Wee said.
Last month, Chong sought to refer Wee to the rights and privileges committee after the MCA president sparred with Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli over the cost of the government's Central Hatabase hub (Padu).
Chong said Wee had misled the Dewan Rakyat by stating that the cost of developing Padu was RM85 million.
Rafizi, however, denied that the government had spent RM85 million to establish Padu, saying it had only spent RM31 million on the system as of September.
Wee, then said that the RM85 million figure he had repeatedly mentioned was from past written parliamentary replies from Rafizi.
Chong also claimed that Wee had referred Rafizi to the committee by raising Standing Order 36(12) – an allegation Wee denied in a letter to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul.
Last week, Wee said that he never referred Rafizi to the committee, pointing out that this was clear from the Hansard and video recordings of the Dewan Rakyat proceedings.
He said he had only interjected to seek clarification and had no intention of dragging the minister to the committee.