Truemors
The frontpage headline story of the Star, Malaysia's leading English tabloid daily on Monday 12 Oct 2009 says it all.
On it are reports arising from two major local political events which occured over the weekend of 10-11 Oct.
On Saturday, the 2,000-odd delegates to the Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) showed all was in control when they booted out both the party president and his deputy.
They passed a vote of no-confidence on Ong Tee Keat as president while restoring former deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek's status as a party member. The delegates from all over Malaysia (except Sarawak state) however rejected a third resolution to restore Dr Chua's position as MCA's No 2.
Dr Chua, a former Minister of Health until his fall from grace over a sex scandal just before Malaysia's 12th general election in March 2008, was sacked from the party by the MCA presidential council headed by Ong earlier this year. The party's disciplinary committee had earlier recommended the sack over the scandal.
However, following an outcry by grassroot party leaders from throughout the country, the Central Committee subsequently overturned the Presidential Council's decision and reduced the punishment to a mere 4 years suspension. The move was seen as a tactic to pacify pro-Chua members who had demanded the EGM.
Despite the move, however, the delegates passed the resolution to oust Ong; albeit with a slim 14-vote margin. Both Ong and Dr Chua obtained slightly more than 1,000 votes. Analysts said the result showed Ong still had the support of half the party leadership. But even a 1-vote majority is a win in a democracy, an observer pointed out.
Ong's fate as both MCA president and Transport Minister now rests with the party Central Committee which meets on Thursday. Although Ong's men still control the Committee, public comments including by national leaders and MCA veterans had so far hinted that Ong should resign as a matter of principle.
Both Ong and Dr Chua, a medical doctor, were elected by the same delegates soon after last year's general election. By right, both should have no problem working with each other as they were after all elected by party members. There was only one problem - Dr Chua was not Ong's running mate. Ong's preferred No. 2 choice, Ong Ka Chuan, lost to Dr Chua who made a dramatic comeback despite the sandal.
Ka Chuan's brother, Ka Ting, was the MCA president at the time of the March 2008 election but he gentlemanly stepped down as both party chief and Cabinet Minister soon after. Ka Chuan, who just like his brother was re-elected Member of Parliament in March 2008, replaced Ka Ting as Minister of Local Government & Housing - a history in Malaysia's politics.
A Tee Keat-Ka Chuan team would have been deemed perfect. But, alas, man proposes God disposes. It turned out to be a Tee Keat-Dr Chua team and it was an open secret that there was no team at all following the unexpected party election result.
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