YOUTH chief Dr Akmal Saleh tonight told MCA to dispel any thought of quitting Barisan Nasional (BN) and going solo as the component is considered ‘like family’.

“We stay together in good times and in bad. That’s the BN spirit which you cannot find in any other coalition,” he told FMT.

Akmal said that every BN component should instead focus on strengthening their respective parties and work towards winning back the public’s trust.

He was responding to MCA president Wee Ka Siong who declared in a speech to party members yesterday that the party was prepared to chart its own path if any BN party decided to form new ties and abandon its current allies in the coalition.

Wee said the party was ready to be “independent” even if it meant starting all over again.

Last July, Wee shut the door on joining Perikatan Nasional (PN) following an offer by the opposition coalition after MCA and MIC decided to sit out the six state elections in August.