READ MORE HERE: The rats leaving the sinking ship

According to the paper, it seems that the party leaders are split into two factions, with one faction led by party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek who is for the deal; while the other faction, led by deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai (picture) and other leaders, are against the deal.

 

The report says as many of the shareholders of Matang Holdings are from Johor, if the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) tomorrow does not approve the RTO, this will be a huge setback for Chua who is also the Johor MCA state chairman.

 

(MCA’s investment arm, Huaren Holdings is the largest shareholder of Matang Holdings, with a controlling stake of 10.75%.)

 

It is understood that some leaders will use this EGM to hit out at Chua and some leaders even said they are prepared to engage in a prolonged war with Chua.

 

Parit Sulong MCA division chairman Datuk Tan Teck Poh has been collecting proxy forms from the shareholders to oppose the deal. 

 

There are two matters which are in dispute among the party’s top leadership: firstly, the deal has not been tabled, deliberated or decided in the central committee; secondly, whether the deal will benefit shareholders.

 

Former MCA secretary Tee Hock Seng expressed his worries that if the party top leadership insist on going ahead with the deal, it could cause another split within MCA, similar to what happened during the takeover of Nanyang Siang Pau in 2001.

 

In 2001, MCA took over Nanyang Siang Pau through Huaren Holdings in a RM230 million deal, despite the Chinese community strongly opposing the take over. This led the MCA to split into team A and team B, led by then-president Tun Ling Liong Sik and then-deputy president Tan Sri Lim Ah Lek, respectively.

 

Tee expressed his support for Liow and other seven central working committee members’ stand that the presidential council should vote on the RTO and the matter should not be determined only by a few leaders.

 

Chua had issued a statement on Tuesday and stated that the deal was not tabled in the central committee meeting for deliberation, nor does it need the two-thirds approval of the central committee because it is not an asset-stripping transaction.

 

In light of Chua’s statement, Haw Chin Teck, director of Matang Holdings, tendered his resignation yesterday and returned his director’s remuneration amounting to RM63,500 for the last three years as a sign of protest.

 

In a statement, Haw opined that Chua had violated the party constitution, which states clearly that party assets must be registered under the party; unless the central committee gives written approval, the asset cannot be sold.

 

Haw was appointed as director by Huaren Holdings in 2011.

 

Teh opined that the party should set up a party asset trust council system to improve the transparency of administration of party assets. He proposed the same mechanism during Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting’s tenure as party president, but the central committee did not approve the proposal.

 

Although MCA president Chua had issued a statement yesterday to ask for a postponement of the EGM, it is expected that the meeting will still go on as scheduled in Johor Baru tomorrow.

 

However, Matang chairman Datuk Tan Chai Ho had issued a statement shortly after to state that he will table a motion to postpone the EGM tomorrow.