MCA crisis: Only 14 in CC are behind Ong

By Eileen Ng, NST

Twenty-two MCA central committee members, who were supporters of party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, are believed to have broken ranks at last Thursday’s meeting.

They were against Ong’s decision to call another extraordinary general meeting.

Party sources said they abandoned Ong to throw their support behind newly appointed deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

Ong now only commands the support of 14 of the 42 CC members; the remaining six support former deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

According to the sources, the split among Ong’s supporters came when the Oct 10 EGM results showed that Ong had lost two of the three resolutions and many of the delegates realised that the CC members were unwilling to relinquish their posts.

Ong had earlier said that the CC would collectively quit if he lost any one of the three resolutions.

CC member Datuk Seri Tan Chai Ho confirmed that many members refused to resign at Thursday’s CC meeting.

Instead, they pressured Ong to quit.

“I understood the pressure he (Ong) was under then,” he said.

Tan added that Dr Chua’s supporters were backing the move to call for another EGM to decide on a fresh election to resolve the party’s problems.

They wanted the EGM to be held as soon as possible as he was confident delegates would favour another election..

“From the feedback we received from the grassroots, many feel that an election will be the best way to resolve the current party crisis,” he said at a press conference yesterday.

Dr Chua and Ong had been embroiled in a political tussle for nearly a year and the delegates to the recent EGM rejected both leaders.

 

A CC member, who did not want to be identified, said some CC members at the Thursday meeting tried to shift the blame for the entire fiasco on Ong.

“They insisted that someone had to step down and Ong was morally obliged to do so.”