Thesun 2009-09-02 Page01 Bid To Avoid Two Egms

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No. 4836 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Wednesday September 2, 2009

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LANG: MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai says it is unnecessary to hold two extraordinary general meetings (EGMs) on the expulsion of Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek from the party. “Instead, supporters of the president (Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat) and Chua should work out an agreed resolution for the EGM. The resolution should then be well supported by all the members,” he said after giving out face masks to 45 schools in Klang yesterday. Ong had on Monday directed party secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng to call for an EGM within 30 days. Chua’s supporters are on a nationwide tour to collect at least 800 signatures from central delegates to requisition for an EGM to reinstate Chua and remove Ong as president. “According to the party constitution, there is no need to have two EGMs in this case. The leadership respects the delegates’ right to have their say in party matters. “This is just a disciplinary matter and not a party (or leadership) crisis where you have two camps fighting with each other. There is no such thing as team A or Team B or a Tee Keat’s and Chua’s team in MCA. We are all a united MCA front,” he said. Liow said the party needs to resolve the expulsion issue as quickly as possible. “The best way is to explain to all members (represented by the national delegates) the action and decisions of the leadership. We do not want to see any split in the party and we want to strengthen unity. “So, if the delegates feel that the EGM is one of the ways to solve the problem, then we will solve it that way,” he said. When asked whether Chua’s sacking is similar to the 1984 case in MCA, Liow said: “No. This is not the same. This is not an indiscriminate sacking. “This is a disciplinary case which was lodged with the disciplinary board and we are going through the process of the constitution and it is within the party’s constitution.” In 1984, the then acting president Datuk Dr Neo Yee Pan sacked vice-president Tan Koon Swan and 13 other leaders and members from the party over the phantom members issue. Neo had also refused to heed the call by more than 1,499 national delegates for an EGM to nullify the expulsions and to probe the presence of phantom members. In KUALA LUMPUR, Wong urged party members who wish to requisition an EGM to submit their agenda latest by Friday to avoid convening two EGMs. He said after an hour-long administration

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Bid to avoid two EGMs meeting in the party headquarters: “The proposed resolutions will be compiled into the EGM agenda. Work on the agenda for the EGM will begin after Friday, which includes sending out notices to all central delegates so that the EGM can be conducted before Sept 30. “Because the party is scheduled to hold its annual general meeting on Oct 11, the party headquarters has decided to compile the resolutions to avoid too many meetings being called. Too many meetings will result in delegates spending too much time on travelling, unnecessary inconvenience and taxing human resources in the administration,” he said. Wong said central delegates could still sub-

mit their agenda or to requisition for an EGM after Sept 4, but it will make preparation work difficult for the party as well as inconveniencing central delegates. The MCA presidential council had on Aug 26 adopted the party disciplinary board’s recommendation to expel Chua for tarnishing the image of the party by being filmed having sex with a woman in a hotel in Johor. Earlier, after a swearing-in ceremony in the Senate, Wong, who is also senate president said he had not received any resolution from both Ong and Chua’s supporters. However, he said he would need to study the resolutions from both sides before deciding how to deal with the calls for EGMs. It was reported on Tuesday that Wong

might consider meeting the two camps if their resolutions are similar so that the EGM can be held together. He told a vernacular newspaper he expected the EGM to have more than one resolution and he was only waiting for Ong to submit his resolutions before sending out the notices to the delegates at least seven days before the scheduled EGM. When contacted, Chua lamented that Wong’s announcement was a blatant abuse of executive powers because it was the grassroots who started the ball rolling for an EGM. He said Ong was aiming to confuse the grassroots by calling for an EGM now because the collection of signatures had started on Sunday. REUTERSPIX

by Karen Arukesamy and Giam Say Khoon

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‘Spiderman’ arrested after scaling Petronas tower by Charles Ramendran [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: French rock and urban climber Alain Robert, dubbed “Spiderman” for scaling the outside of high-rise landmarks, was arrested yesterday after making it to the top of one of the Petronas Twin Towers. Robert, who made two failed attempts in 1997 and 2007 to conquer the country’s highest building, is expected to be charged with trespassing for his latest stunt. The man who has conquered

the Eiffel Tower and Golden Gate Bridge arrived at KLCC at 5am and an hour later began his assault. The 47-year-old Frenchman, clad in a black shirt and trousers, made it to the pinnacle of the 88storey tower about 8.30am without the use of safety harness or other gear. He would have made it up sooner but the wet weather and conditions hampered his upward journey. Robert, who fixed a Malaysian flag atop the building, celebrated his ascent by standing with his arms outspread on the pinnacle

of the tower, as a helicopter circled in the misty morning. “He climbed using his bare hands and reached the top very fast ... as no security personnel noticed him or stopped him,” said Ee Wee Kiat, a cameraman who was filming the scene from the ground. Dang Wangi police chief ACP Mohd Zulkarnain Ibrahim said security guards nabbed Robert on the 88th floor and handed him over to police. He was taken to the Dang Wangi police headquarters where he was being held. He said Robert would be re-

manded and was expected to be charged under Section 447 of the Penal Code. Zulkarnain said police are also checking when Robert entered the country. “What he did is against the law as he did not get prior permission from the owners of the building to carry out his feat,” he said. In 1997 and 2007, Robert who has carried out more than 70 such acts around the world, had made similar attempts but was stopped by police when he was more than halfway up.

“Spiderman” Alain Robert