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Petaling Jaya, Mon. - Former MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek today called on party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, who had failed to command the confidence of the majority of the party members and the central committee (CC) members appointed by him, to quit.
Dr Chua, who had his membership suspension lifted by the central delegates at Saturday's extraordinary general meeting (EGM) which passed the no-confidence vote in Ong, also demanded that fresh elections at the CC level be called immediately to elect a new leadership line-up.
"Since the EGM on Saturday, I have received many SMSes and calls from the grassroots calling for Ong's resignation. It is not I but the grassroots who want it," he told a news conference here.
He said fresh elections were needed to reflect the grassroots' wishes and to have a new line-up that would be respected by the MCA members and the people.
In the EGM, 2,304 central delegates voted no confidence in Ong's leadership. They passed a motion to reinstate Dr Chua as an ordinary member but rejected the resolution to have him reinstated as deputy president.
Following that, the MCA will hold a CC meeting on Thursday to deliberate on the the outcome of the EGM and the future direction of the 60-year-old party.
Dr Chua said that it would only be fair that Ong not chair the CC meeting unless he wanted to announce his resignation from the party's No.1 post.
"And the CC members that he appointed should also resign with him. They should also not attend the CC meeting. Only then is there democracy," he said, adding that a CC member should be appointed to chair the meeting.
Dr Chua said the CC meeting would be an opportunity for its leaders to right a wrong and "if they do the right thing, it is a golden opportunity to put the party on a right footing.
"But if they do the wrong thing, make the wrong decision, I'm afraid that it (the squabble) will start all over again. The message is clear. You must know how to pursue the middle ground to reach out to the people of both camps. If you don't, then the party will still be fractured," he added.
Asked whether he would contest if fresh elections were held, he said he would only comment when the CC had decided on whether or not to have fresh elections. He said that as an MCA member, he would play his role to help strengthen the party and the Barisan Nasional (BN), he said.
MCA BATTLE – ROUND TWO?
The MCA leadership crisis seems to be deepening even before the party's powerful Central Committee (CC) meets on Thursday to deal with the aftermath of Saturday's extraordinary general meeting EGM) which rejected party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and former deputy resident Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
Despite appeals from secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Ming for all parties to stop making statements and speculations and let the CC discuss the matter, there is already debate on who should lead the party and which mechanism to use.
Apart from that, there is concern that should Ong resign abruptly, it will leave the party in chaos as there is no leadership succession plan in place.
"If he leaves abruptly, the crisis will continue for at least two to three years. The current mess is almost similar to the Tan (Koon Swan) and Neo (Yit Pan) battle in 1983 that was resolved in 1985.
"If that happens, MCA will be worse hit. We may have a similar situation if Ong leaves without a succession plan," a party insider told Bernama here today.
An Ong supporter said that it was wrong to surmise that Ong's immediate exit would resolve the current impasse as it could even lead to a "free for all" situation.
"While we do not have a succession plan, we also do not have any strong personality at the moment to lead the party if Ong resigns immediately," he argued.
However, for others, such an issue was not the most crucial, saying the party delegates had already made up their minds and everybody had to respect the outcome of the EGM and move on.
Some leaders want to use the existing mechanism to pick the new top leaders as indicated by the delegates.
Under the party constitution, there are two ways, either by the CC electing the new president and deputy president or two-thirds of the CC members resign to pave the way for a fresh party election.
There is already a big tussle among the party leaders on which course to take as some prefer the 45-member CC to decide on who should fill the top two spots.
Attention is on the four vice-presidents, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen and Johor exco member Tan Kok Hong.
Kong had openly said he was ready for the job if offered as he polled the highest number of votes in the last party election.
Dr Ng is said to have the most experience while Liow enjoys strong support from the Youth wing and has good rapport with the grassroots.
Some members are also said to be pushing for party Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong to be appointed as party secretary-general.
There are mounting calls for the party to conduct fresh elections to break the deadlock with backers believing this is the most democratic and best way.
"If you elect among the CC members, the choice is limited. The best and most democratic way is to give it back to the central delegates to select the leaders," said former secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh.
"We don't need to go through the branch or divisional level, but just let the present central delegates decide as these people were elected only a year ago. If you hold fresh elections, then there will not be any complaint, as at least everybody can exercise their right to choose again," he added.
Dr Ting, who is also a delegate from the Kapar division, said by having fresh elections, even Ong and Dr Chua could seek re-election if both thought they still had the support.
Both are still eligible to contest as Ong is also a delegate by virtue of being a member of parliament, while Dr Chua is the Batu Pahat division chairman.
All MPs, state assemblymen and division chairmen are considered automatic delegates apart from the about 2,000 elected central delegates.
The party constitution states that whoever wants to contest any party post must be a delegate.
Former MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn even proposed the party to immediately hold fresh party polls "in the shortest time" in order to reunite the party.
A few other leaders, including former secretary-general Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, former vice-president Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai and Dr Chua himself have made similar calls.
"The best way is to immediately hold fresh elections as everybody will accept the decision," said Dr Fong.
But the calls for fresh party polls have been viewed by other party insiders as "an opportunity for those who failed in the last party election to make a comeback".
"If you look at the background of those calling for fresh elections, they all have one thing in common -- eligibility to contest. Some of them may not want to wait for another two years," the insider said.
"The big fight is already on the way. Maybe there is round three, you'll never know," added the insider.
-Bernama Related News
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