2œ theSun | WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 14 2009

news without borders

Liow, Kong strike consensus?

It smacks of
operating in a state of lawlessness.
Why the constitution requires a
MCA vice-presidents Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Datuk Seri two-thirds majority for the presi-
Kong Cho Ha are said to have reached a consensus that they dent to be removed in an EGM is
would take over the baton once Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat steps likely to prevent a “hung” situation,
down, Sin Chew Daily reported yesterday. a reflection of the president’s cur-
However, China Press reported that Ong is likely to pick Liow rent status quo.
and Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong as the party No 1 and 2.

power grab
What were said by leaders to
Amid calls for a new pair to be picked from among the lobby for support before the EGM
vice-presidents or central committee to lead the party as well are all part and parcel of cam-
as for fresh elections paigning strategy. After the EGM,
following Saturday’s all must respect the decisions as
extraordinary gen-
eral meeting Liow
Press Digest provided for by the party constitu-
by Kong See Hoh tion. The buck should stop here.
and Kong were said But the circus continues with
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
to have reached the Comment by Ng Kee Seng leaders. What really happened? calls for fresh party elections. Ong
consensus to work as a team in their meeting on Sunday night. newsdesk@thesundaily.com Judging by the response of the was elected president barely a year
The central committee (CC), which had indicated prior to leaders in the past 48 hours, it is ago. Did that solve the leadership
the EGM that it would take collective responsibility and make THE MCA is in turmoil following clear the battle was not just about problem after the March 8, 2008
collective decisions, is expected to appeal to Ong to stay on in the shocking and split decisions Ong and Chua. It was about op- political tsunami that destabilised
its meeting tomorrow but if the president insists on quitting, the of the 2,307 central delegates in portunistic leaders who seized the the party leadership?
Liow-Kong pair is psychologically prepared to take over, sources Saturday’s extraordinary general situation to destabilise the leader- There are no provisions in the
told Sin Chew. meeting (EGM). ship to grab power. constitution for fresh party elec-
It is learnt that in the meeting, Liow and Kong did not discuss They denied the wishes of both It is about going for the No 1 and tions.
who would be the No 1 but it was tacitly agreed that Liow would president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat No 2 positions, not for the sake of But there are clauses that allow
assume the top post with Kong playing the part of the supportive and his former deputy Datuk Seri party stability or for the Chinese fresh elections to be called in the
No 2, to reduce the conflicts within the party to a minimum.
Sources said the two believed that so long as they can work
TI-M to Dr Chua Soi Lek. community. event that two-thirds of the CC
hold In essence, the delegates passed The leader of the so-called third members willingly stepped down
closely, they would be able to pacify both supporters of Ong and a motion of no confidence on Ong force which was bandied about to pave the way for polls. Why
Chua, much like Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy EGM with a mere 14-vote majority – not just two days before the EGM is would they want to do that just
taking over from Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Lim Ah Lek in
2003 to end the Ling-Lim conflict.
to address a motion to remove him as presi- still faceless and no one is claiming after a year of being elected?
problems dent. To remove him in an EGM, credit for plunging the party into its The other way, as provided for
It is generally believed that Tee Keat and the CC that he con- the party constitution requires two- worst-ever leadership crisis. by the constitution, is for the CC to
trols will recommend Liow to take over the helm whereas Kong pg 4 thirds of the delegates’ support. There is a Chinese saying call for a referendum. This means
is tipped to be the hot favourite for the No 2 post. In essence, the delegates also ren shi ni, gui ye shi ni (literally going to all party members, not the
Wee and vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen are deemed literally sacked Chua as deputy translated as “human is you, devil central delegates, to decide whether
dark-horse candidates for the deputy president post. president with a 74-vote majority. is also you”). Perhaps the equiva- they want fresh elections or retain
Meanwhile, Kong told Sin Chew the question of who should They also vetoed the decision the current leadership.
lent in English is “double-headed
lead the party if Tee Keat steps down is best left to the CC to of the central committee (CC) to Of course, the CC can also “sink
snakes”.
decide and not a fresh election. suspend Chua for four years for or swim” with their leader since
The party has too many ren shi
He said the EGM, held under a year of the party election, has tarnishing the image of the party by that is what collective decision is
ni, gui ye shi ni and is now the butt
already riled the Chinese community what more another party being involved in adultery – result- all about.
of jokes of the Chinese community.
election. ing in the production of a sex video Lest members have forgotten
It’s in such a shameful state of af-
Kong said another party election may lead to further division last year. the dreadful and embarrassing
fairs.
within the party and another round of in-fighting. The CC had vetoed the presiden- two-year-long Datuk Dr Neo Yee
And this follows another Chi-
He also dismissed press reports that he intended to take over tial council’s earlier endorsement Pan-Tan Koon Swan leadership
nese proverb which the community
from Ong as the acting chief as well as speculation that he is of the party disciplinary board’s crisis that was sparked by the
uses on those responsible – hu li
going to team up with Liow or that Liow is going to pair with Wee recommendation to sack Chua. resignation of Tan Sri Lee San
wei ba lu chu lai le (the fox’s tail is
to run the show. By reinstating Chua’s member- Choon who succumbed to the pres-
showing). It refers to the exposure
He said such unnecessary speculation would only cause more ship, the delegates have consciously sures of “political masters” and left
of the insincere leaders.
confusion and chaos. or unconsciously passed a motion abruptly without a chance to plan
The party constitution is there
of no confidence on all their central for a purpose. Without one, it is like for a smooth transition of power.

Exporters’ Club lends support to beleagured MCA president

by Terence Fernandez
sreports@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: The Exporters’ Club
has come out in support of embattled
MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee
Keat, openly endorsing the transport
minister and implying that the political
challenges he faces are related to the
Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.
Club president Abdul Kabur Ibrahim
said it was time that the business com-
munity which had wide influence be
vocal in its push for good governance
and protect, if not support, those who
champion this cause.
The club is supporting the Ma-
laysians Against Corruption website
(http://www.malaysiansagainstcorrup-
tion.com) which calls for the retaining
of Ong as MCA president.
The website, which was launched
before the party’s Oct 10 emergency
general meeting that saw Ong losing a
no confidence resolution against him,
petitions for “Malaysians who want to
be represented by politicians who are
committed to eliminating corruption in
government and society”.
“The club feels that Ong as transport
minister did not receive the support he
deserved while pushing for full dis-
closure over the PKFZ affair and feels
that his political setback parallels the
difficulties he faced as minister,” Abdul
Kabur told theSun yesterday.
Abdul Kabur is the country’s former
trade commissioner to Belgium and
South Africa and was director of the ap-
proved permits unit in the International
Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti).
He said while the Exporters’ Club’s
objective is to upgrade, upskill and
upscale opportunities for international
trade, the PKFZ issue has brought a new
dimension to the role that influential
groups can play in ensuring transpar-
ency, accountability and good govern-
ance are preserved in the pursuit of
business opportunities and profit.
Abdul Kabur said the club repre-
sents over 50,000 companies involved
in international trade, of which 70%
are bumiputra companies and crosses
political divides.