An opportunity for MCA to move on

The surprising result of today’s MCA EGM could well turn out to be the best result Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno could have hoped for.

The Malaysian Insider understands that members of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s administration are privately pleased with the results because it provides an opening for MCA to move on beyond the infighting it has found itself mired in since Election 2008.

The best possible scenario could emerge, with the MCA central committee appointing an interim president as delegates at today’s EGM appear to have delivered a knockout blow to both Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

For now, the delegates’ decision to pass a vote of no-confidence against Ong while refusing to reinstate Dr Chua as deputy president has thrown the party into chaos.

But it provides the central committee an opportunity an opening to solve the leadership crisis.

Besides appointing an interim president, the central committee may well decide to hold fresh party elections.

Much will depend on how the two protagonists respond to today’s vote. Ong was evasive when asked after the results if he would resign.

Dr Chua would only say that he accepted today’s decision. Between the two men, Ong has lost the most.

He will have little choice but to resign soon even though he only lost by a wafer-thin margin.

Under the party constitution, a two-thirds majority is needed to remove a sitting president.

But today’s results show that clearly, he has lost the confidence of his party just one year after winning the presidency.

Ong now lacks the moral stature to go on as president even though he may be entitled to under the party constitution.

He had also said previously that he would quit if he lost the vote.

His confrontational approach to politics has won him few friends in the party and among his BN colleagues.

Umno leaders have found him difficult to work with while the MCA under his leadership has not shown any signs that it can regain support from Chinese voters who are now firmly behind Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and DAP.

Today’s results showed that many in his own party are also no longer confident in his leadership.

If Dr Chua had won reinstatement today, he would have automatically become the MCA acting president.

But that scenario would not have gone down well with reform minded Malaysians because he is still tainted by his 2007 sex scandal.

Dr Chua as MCA president would have provided Najib with a sticky situation which has been avoided by today’s vote.

But he has shown he remains a potent force in MCA as his campaign had mustered enough support to knock out Ong even if it was not enough to elevate him.

Even though he has not been reinstated as the MCA No 2, Dr Chua could well still retain his position as BN’s coordinator in PR-held states as he remains close to the PM.

Still, the decision on whether the party takes up this opening to once and for all solve the leadership crisis lies in the hands of central committee members.


comments

The most stupid decision. This really shows on the quality of Mca leaders. Can't even decide to to kick out Ong or to kick out Chua.
No wonder Umno was able to manipulate the party for decades.

The MCA ship is sinking fast. The next president will be one who is also subservient to UMNO. Time for MCA grassroot members to abandon ship or sink with it.