Thesun 2009-10-15 Page06 Why Mca No 2 Should Not Take Over From Tee Keat

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theSun

| THURSDAY OCTOBER 15 2009

news without borders

Press Digest by Kong See Hoh

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Some want Ong to stay on as president

‘Why MCA No 2 should not take over from Tee Keat’ by Giam Say Khoon

SOME MCA grassroots leaders and members are calling on party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, who lost a no-confidence vote at the extraordinary general meeting on Saturday, to continue to lead the party. However, grassroots sources told China Press they do not believe the “retain Ong” move would have any impact. On the other hand, they said, many party leaders, including those waiting for opportunities to climb the party ladder, want Ong to leave. Most state liaison committees are mum on Ong and of the few that spoke up, Pahang and Negri Sembilan said Ong should stay on but Terengganu said he should go whereas Sabah said it is up to the central committee (CC) to decide, Sin Chew Daily reported. Perak deputy liaison chief Datuk Dr Mah Soon Han, an appointed CC member, said he would sink and swim with Ong. His Johor counterpart Tan Kok Hong, who is also a vice-president, is tightlipped. Tan has been tipped to take over from Ong as state chief should Ong step down. Meanwhile, the Federation of Hainanese Associations of Malaysia has appealed to all Chinese guilds and associations to call on Ong not to quit.

Federation president Datuk Foo Sae Heng said in the interest of the Chinese community, Chinese groups should step forward to urge Ong to keep his post. However, the key Chinese groups opted to stay out of the MCA’s internal affairs. Seven Major Chinese Clans Association president Datuk Koong Heng Sze said it is difficult for Chinese groups to intervene in party matters. Jiao Zong (United Chinese School Teachers Association) president Ong Kow Yee said the movement would leave it to the party to decide its own internal matters. Dong Zong (United Chinese School Committees Association) president Dr Yap Sin Tian said “it is not the right time to comment on the matter”. On Tuesday, nine Chinese clan leaders led by former MCA secretary-general Datuk Dr Tan Tiong Hong made a joint appeal to Ong to stay on in the party. More than 2,000 members of the public calling themselves defenders of justice placed a full-page advertisement in Sin Chew yesterday to show their solidarity with Ong. The same day, a group of “Righteous Youths” appealed to Ong to stay on in a half-page advertisement in Nanyang Siang Pau.

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PETALING JAYA: The MCA central committee (CC) should not appoint the deputy president to take over from Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat should he resign his presidential post today, said “Save MCA” campaigner Datuk Theng Book. Theng told a press conference yesterday that since Ong has lost the support of the majority in the party, he must step down but a vacated president’s post can only be filled by a deputy president as stipulated under the party constitution. Furthermore, the CC has no power to appoint any CC member to be the president. He said the committee should also not appoint a deputy president merely to take over the president’s post because the status of former deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who was not reinstated at the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Saturday, is still debatable. “Chua was reinstated as a member and he should have his post back because the party accepted the fact that when the six-month suspension of Ipoh Timur chief Datuk Thong Fah Chong was lifted, his status as central delegate and division chief was recognised by the party and he was allowed to vote in the EGM. “Chua is still legally the deputy president although a resolution not to reinstate him was passed at the EGM. We want the MCA legal bureau to clarify his status and we hope the party will treat him fairly as it did Thong,” he said. Theng said the sentiment among the grassroots was that they would not accept the CC sharing the “spoils of war” at a closed-door meeting because whoever was appointed would not reflect their choice and the best way to resolve the crisis was for the CC to resign and pave the way for fresh party elections. However, he said it is acceptable for the CC

to have an interim president provided fresh elections are held by end of the year although there is no such position as interim president under the party constitution. “Another way is to call for a referendum under Article 171 of the party constitution to allow the highest authority, which is the central delegates to decide when the party constitution is unable to solve the problem,” he said. Vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen reportedly said on Wednesday that she and the other elected vice-presidents including Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha had reached an agreement on who should lead the party although no details were given. It was also reported that Liow and Kong met on Sunday on the same issue but neither leader confirmed nor denied this. Political observers believe that since there is great demand for fresh party elections, Ong should stay on as “interim” president until the elections are held to ensure a smooth transition. They said even if Ong decides to step down because he is no longer supported by the majority, he should not relinquish his post as that would only create more infighting. “He (Ong) could choose to stay and face whatever criticism is thrown at him as ‘interim’ president and set a deadline for party elections as soon as possible.” They said that would be the best way to stabilise the party. “He is still president and he is not required to step down immediately under the party constitution. Ong is not betraying the principle of democracy because he will still step down at the end of the day as promised and most importantly, he could help to stop the party from splitting further.” The CC meeting today, expected to be chaired by Ong, will determine and deliberate the future of the party based on the outcome of the EGM.

Talks still under way on Indonesian maids PETALING JAYA: Negotiations between Malaysia and Indonesia on the issue of domestic maids are still under way, with no conclusive agreement yet. “There are several issues that need to be ironed out before we can wrap up the negotiations,” Labour director-general Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim said yesterday. Indonesia has temporarily sending its maids to Malaysia pending a more comprehensive deal, particularly in terms of salary and work conditions. He said the central issue that Malaysia was most concerned about in the

ongoing talks was the process of recruitment of Indonesian maids as “problems and exploitation suffered by these maids were found to have originated from the recruitment process itself”. “Improper and unregulated means of recruitment committed by unscrupulous people or individuals masquerading as registered agents operating either in Malaysia or the source country were contributing to the predicament of these maids. “In many instances, the agents themselves were involved in exploitative activities,” said Ismail who was speaking at a panel discussion titled, ‘Strategies to Support

Proposed International Standard for Domestic Workers’. Ismail also said Malaysia was looking at recruiting Muslim domestic maids from Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand. He said that currently, there are 251,255 registered domestic maids in Malaysia, of which 230,141 were Indonesians. Ismail said the Human Resources Ministry would soon table an amendment to the Employment Act 1955 to address the woes of the maids in areas of wages being kept by employers or kept in banks in the name of employers. The amendment would also provide increased penalties for offences against workers and protect workers from sexual harassment. – Bernama

In safe hands ... Two members of the National Civil Defence Force carry 90-year-old Bashah Yatim, from Kampung Kuala Melaka to the evacuation centre in Langkawi during the Indian Ocean Wave Exercise 2009 yesterday – the first time a joint tsunami warning trial was held simultaneously in 27 countries bordering the Indian Ocean. A total of 1,270 residents from six villages in Kuala Triang and Kuala Melaka took part in the exercise, along with 200 personnel from nine government agencies.