Thesun 2009-10-13 Page03 Chua And Fong Call For Fresh Mca Polls

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| TUESDAY OCTOBER 13 2009

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Chua and Fong call for fresh MCA polls by Giam Say Khoon [email protected]

PETALING JAYA: Former MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and former vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn yesterday called for the resignation of party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to pave the way for a smooth power transition via fresh party elections. At a press conference, Chua said he had accepted the decision of central delegates at Saturday’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) rejecting him as deputy president.

“I hope he (Ong) will also accept the decision of the delegates that the motion of no confidence against him was passed. Morally, when most of the delegates passed the motion of no-confidence against the leader, he should step down. “It is not right to rely on the party constitution that the president can only be removed by two-thirds of the delegates in an EGM. “ When your support has dropped from 60% to 49% in a year and you have failed to get the support of the delegates within a month before the EGM, it tells you that your time is up

and that the people can no longer accept your leadership, so you have to go now.” Chua said he hoped the central committee (CC) would keep its promise when Ong said the entire committee would collectively resign if any of the three resolutions, which were to move a motion of no-confidence against Ong, reinstate Chua as a party member, and reinstate Chua as deputy president, was passed at the EGM. On whether he would contest in a fresh party election, he said: “I do not want to speculate anything until the

committee makes a decision.” In a separate press conference, Fong said the delegates had overturned the decision of the CC to penalise Chua by reinstating him as an ordinary member. “The delegates had told the leadership in no uncertain terms that the disciplinary action taken against Chua was unnecessary and it was an action that indicated the lack of wisdom on the part of the president, presidential council and CC that they were not able to feel the aspirations of the grassroots. “It is now time for the president

to honour his words to accept the delegates’ decision and to take the necessary action for a smooth transition.” Fong urged the CC to hold a fresh election as it is no longer representing the aspiration of the grassroots members. “Party election is the best way to reunite the party and bring back order, dignity and a solid MCA, otherwise the dissatisfaction among the members will continue.” Asked if he would contest a party election, Fong said: “I do not want to speculate.”

Kim Sai says Tee Keat should step down Press Digest by Kong See Hoh [email protected]

of top leaders and start afresh. “As Ong’s mentor, I feel helpless, but I hope that before he leaves he will pick a new pair which can sink and swim together.” Lee said MCA is almost a spent force and the new team can no longer afford to waste any more resources lest the party would face a worse setback in the next general election. “If MCA does not improves but continues to waste its resources, it has to get ready to pack its bags at the next general election,” he said. On the EGM outcome, Lee likened it to “death before rebirth” to pluck MCA from its year-long stalemate. He said it showed that the central delegates are mature and have exercised their wisdom. It also showed that the central delegates are the ones with the real power to decide. Meanwhile, former secretarygeneral Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan said Tee Keat has a moral responsibility to resign after losing the vote of confidence at the EGM. However, Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers Association) president Ong Kow Yee begged to differ, and said Tee Keat should continue to lead the party, China Press reported yesterday. The vote of no-confidence against the MCA president is against the wishes of the majority of the Chinese community, he said, referring to polls conducted by Chinese dailies which showed that more than 60% of the readers feel that Tee Keat should stay on but not Chua.

‘Appointees obliged to quit if president resigns’ IF MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat resigns, those who are appointed to party posts by him are obliged to quit too, China Press reported yesterday. Central committee (CC) members whose jobs are at stake include secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Ming and treasurer-general Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng. The other key appointed posts are the deputy secretary-general, deputy treasurergeneral, organising secretary and deputy organising secretary. The report said once the president resigns, the appointments he made, including the nine CC members who were appointed, will cease automatically. Sources from former deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s camp said the wisdom of the CC members will be tested again on Thursday when they decide on the

fate of Ong. It remains to be seen whether they would allow themselves to be ruled by their heads or their hearts, the sources said. “If they retain Ong, they would be going against the wishes of the majority of the central delegates.” The sources said the CC members’ wisdom were first tested when it decided to suspended Chua for four years. “The CC’s decision to suspend Chua lacked rationality as it has gone against the aspirations of the delegates’ who voted him to the deputy president post last year.” The daily also said CC members are already split on whether Ong should be retained. It also said Chua’s aides are scrutinising the party constitution in an attempt to win back the No. 2 post for Chua by legal means.

ANWAR FAIZ/THESUN

FORMER MCA deputy president Tan Sri Lee Kim Sai says party chief Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat should resign since the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) has passed a vote of noconfidence against him. Lee, who is Ong’s mentor and who has appealed to the central delegates to rally behind the president on the eve of the EGM, said Ong should pick his successor and the deputy president at the central committee (CC) meeting on Thursday. Speaking to Nanyang Siang Pau on Sunday, he said without a vote of confidence from the central delegates, Ong has become a “lame duck”, and it is difficult for him to find an excuse to stay on. However, Lee said, as the motion of no-confidence passed by the central delegates is only against Ong, there is no need for the presidential council and CC to resign en bloc. He said for them to quit en bloc along with Ong would worsen the situation in the already unstable MCA. “The no-confidence vote did not target any central leader apart from the president. The revocation of the presidential council’s decision to sack (Datuk Seri Dr) Chua Soi Lek is not a vote of no-confidence against the council. As such, its members need not resign en bloc.” He stressed that the CC should not retain Ong at its coming meeting or raise the question of its resignation en bloc as such a question does not arise. Lee said although he has been regarded as Ong’s mentor and he appreciated the latter’s leadership qualities he is at wit’s end over the MCA debacle. He said the only way out of the debacle is for MCA to pick a new team

Chefs prepare vegetables at the PWTC kitchen. Food will be served to an estimated 16,000 people during the Umno assembly.

Isa’s win inspiration for Umno delegates KUALA LUMPUR: Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad’s victory in the Bagan Pinang byelection on Sunday will certainly be one of the hot topics among the delegates at the Umno general assembly beginning today. Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who has helmed the party for only seven months, acknowledged that the victory by the veteran Umno leader would provide a new inspiration to the party’s struggles. It was hoped that it would inspire the more than 2,500 delegates to push the agenda for transformation promised by the party leaders. The assembly this year will be his-

toric as it is being held twice within one year, and it is also the first time that a special assembly is being held during the general assembly. The assembly is being held twice within one year because of the postponement of the party election, which should have been held in 2008 but was held in March this year instead. The special general assembly on Thursday is aimed at amending the party constitution, and if accepted, it will see a more democratic Umno election. This is a follow-up to the proposal made by Najib in his speech when he

accepted the premier’s post from Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the previous general assembly that, among other things, called for a wider involvement of Umno members in the party election. Earlier, the chairman of the Main Committee for the Constitution Amendment, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, confirmed that among the proposed changes to be tabled at the meeting was the abolition of the quota system for nominations of candidates. The duration of the general assembly this time is also shorter – four days compared with five previously. – Bernama

Learn from Onn Jaafar on when to quit: Dr M by Maria J. Dass [email protected]

KUALA LUMPUR: Leaders whose ideas have been rejected by their party members should know when to step down to avoid discord, former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said yesterday. They should learn from the example set by Datuk Onn Jaafar, the Umno founder and its first president, who relinquished his post when his ideas to include non-Malays in the party was rejected by the majority, Mahathir said after launching the Umno Presidential Address 1946-2009 book series. Earlier, in his address, he said Onn had succeeded in bringing together the Malays, who were divided according to the states ruled by different sultans.

“But despite his success in doing this and becoming the first Umno head, he left on his own accord because his ideas were rejected by party members,” he said. “If people do not agree with us or with our ideas then we should pull out to avoid any problems”. Later, asked if he was referring to MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, he laughed and said: “I was talking about what Onn Jaafar did; he was a gentleman and left the party honourably when his ideas were rejected by Umno.” Asked if Ong should emulate Onn, Mahathir said: “I was talking about Datuk Onn but if you want to learn from that episode, then you can. “This can be a guide for not just Ong Tee Keat but the other person also, he said, without revealing the person’s

identity. Asked if he was talking about MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, he said in jest: “Samy Vellu? I thought he left long ago.” Responding to queries on whether Umno should interfere in the leadership crisis in MCA, Mahathir said: “Umno should not interfere, but BN should.” “When I was president of Umno I admit that I did get involved in a crisis but not openly – I did it behind closed doors and as chairman of the BN, not as president of Umno,” he said. The Umno Presidential Address 1946 – 2009 book series published by Berita Publishing Sdn Bhd comes in a set of six books costing RM200. The books contain speeches by all six past Umno presidents.