The start of yet another fierce battle
Having gone through all the twists and turns, MCA is back to square one again, and the grassroots’ efforts over the past several months have all been rendered futile.
By LOW YAK BUANG/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily
MCA took yet another dramatic turn yesterday.
Chua Soi Lek was reinstated as the party’s deputy president, and the president plucked out four appointed CC members in one go. Ong and Chua joined hands to block the advances of Liow Tiong Lai earlier said to be the key person trying to force Ong out of office.
Unhappy with himself being manipulated in the twist of events, Liow claims he is still the party’s deputy head, and has vowed to bring about another EGM to seek the re-election of the central committee. He has even said he would challenge Chua’s reinstatement in the court.
It appears that the MCA infighting is far from being over. Instead, another round of fierce battle is very much in the making.
Although it is within the president’s power to remove Chor Chee Heung, Yoo Wei How, Chai Kim Sen and Gan Hong Su, these four have been the key persons in Liow’s faction calling for a second EGM. Their removal will most definitely put a cap on Liow’s influences within the CC.
If the Liow faction is to be that third force in MCA, judging from the fact that he now comes under the siege of both the Ong and Chua camps, Ong will very unlikely trust him again; neither will Chua like to see his deputy presidency snatched away from him by Liow.
It is natural that Ong has to patch up with his ex-rival to thwart the emerging forces in the party.
Having gone through all the twists and turns, MCA is back to square one again, and the grassroots’ efforts over the past several months have all been rendered futile.
The ultimate winner
From the appointment of Donald Lim, Tan Chin Meng and Chua Tee Yong as new CC members, it is apparent that Ong has patched up his relationship with Chua, especially in view of the facts that Tan has been Chua’s left-hand man in Perak, while the junior Chua his son.
The appointment of these two persons is seen as a recognition of Chua’s shared power at the core of the party leadership. Such a combination should ensure that Ong will hold on to his throne much more stably.
The reinstatement of Chua as the party’s number two, and the appointment of his son and left-hand man into the CC come as a major booster for the morale of Chua’s gang.
In a battle where the line between a foe and a friend cannot be distinctly drawn, Chua emerges as the ultimate winner in this round of game. In view of his questionable morality, such an outcome should be more than deserving for him.
Liow ends up nowhere
The engagement of Chua’s foe-turned-ally Donald Lim could be interpreted as a manifestation of the president’s desire to secure his grip on Selangor, a major vote bank. Moreover, Donald’s homecoming will not pose any risk to Chua’s interests. On the contrary, they could work together to check the advances of the ambitious Liow, an arrangement that should please the trio.
By bringing Chua back to his fold in an attempt to check the advances of Liow, Ong has openly declared that his relationship with Liow is beyond repair.
It won’t be wrong to say that such a development has been Ong’s tactic to keep himself firmly in power. It is obvious enough that Ong and Liow are already moving in separate ways judging from the facts that Liow has openly displayed his displeasure with the Ong-Chua unity plan while 16 CC members from his camp have pressed for a second EGM.
Ong has successfully retained his presidency at the expense of Liow, who has miscalculated his chances from the moment he was appointed the deputy president to his exertion of pressure upon the party president, and has never dreamt that the president would ever come to a compromise with his former foe.
Unpredictable changes taking place in politics have not only robbed Liow of his very brief deputy presidency, but also thrown him to nowhere.
Delegates’ squandered efforts
Although 27 CC members have signed to support the unity plan, Liow called his own media conference to clearly state his stand that he could not accept such a solution.
To complicate things further, 16 CC members have pressed for another EGM, a notion that the CC said would investigate whether it was in compliance with party constitution.
From being a prefered candidate to take over the helm from Ong, Liow is most definitely not going to be happy with what has now befallen him. He has put it very straight that he is unhappy being manipulated by Ong, and vows to hit back at the Ong-Chua alliance.
The MCA crisis will not precipitate following the handshakes between Ong and Chua.
It is beyond dispute that Chua has emerged as the ultimate winner in the game, and Ong has also made some gains, from being served with a no-confidence vote to holding securely to his throne.
On the other hand, Liow has been slapped with treachery charges. While Ong and Chua are celebrating their reunion, Liow is made a pariah.
Is such an outcome what the 2,000-odd delegates would want to see having put in so much effort to bring about some kind of resolutions in the past EGM? Or has the cruel reality usurped any most fundamental rationality from politics?
