MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat quick to dismiss an opinion poll conducted in his blog recently as purely academic when the result show an overwhelmingly 76 respondents want the party to quit Barisan Nasional.

Obviously the result taken Tee Keat by surprised. Certainly not what he had hoped for. Thus the reason why he had to come out and explain it, especially to his boss Najib.

The opinion poll on “Whether MCA should quit BN?”, was conducted after the 2008 general election. According to Tee Keat, it was conducted mainly to assess public views on the subject matter, irrespective of race while it was necessary at that material time as the issue was hotly deliberated.

“I think any political party that strives to stay relevant should not turn a blind eye to any contemporary discourse, even if the topic is less palatable to the party.

“Observing the escalating demands for democracy worldwide, including in Malaysia, it’s indeed unfortunate that a legislator or the media with specific agenda chose to spin the issue out of context,” said Ong in a posting on www.ongteekeat.net on June 14.

The poll on “Whether MCA should quit BN?” was subsequently removed earlier this week after 76 per cent of the respondents said the party should quite the coalition.

Ong said the personal and vicious challenge issued to him should only be treated with the disdain it deserved, as it was deplorable for any legislator not to understand the real meaning of opinion polls.

“We should not turn a deaf ear to the people, and certainly MCA is not apologetic for articulating the people’s concerns,” he added.

However, had the result showed otherwise, we bet it would have been paraded as legitimate voices against MCA quitting the ruling coalition? It’s academic simply because it didn’t serve what the master wants?