Kopitiam talks - Intense horse trading ahead of MCA polls

KUALA LUMPUR: The race for the MCA leadership has begun with the announcement by embattled incumbent president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat that he will defend his post as there is still much work to be done to push through party reforms. The guessing game now is who else will throw their hats into the ring? While deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has told the press that he has not decided  which position to contest, many expect the combative doctor to go for the top post. Judging from the number of delegate signatures he received and submitted to the party to force an extraordinary general meeting last October, Chua is said to control the single largest block of delegates who will vote at the party elections on March 28. He submitted 900 delegate signatures but his supporters claimed then he had another 300 in the bag. There are just under 2,400 national delegates. Some within the party feel that Chua, who had come back from the dead, should be given the chance to lead the party as he is capable and the party is in need of a firm and decisive person at the helm. "He has also done his job well as the Barisan Nasional coordinator for the Pakatan states. He has gone to the ground and met with grassroots leaders to discuss how to win back these states," said a Chua supporter. Another plus point, according to an observer, is that Chua, who is not a member of parliament and thus is unlikely to be given a government post at this moment, will have more time for party matters compared with those with ministerial posts. He would be able to spend time to heal the wounds within the party and win back support from the Chinese community, his supporters said. They also argue that the sex video scandal that broke out in 2007 should no longer be an issue as he had come clean and taken his punishment by resigning as a minister and not contesting in the 2008 general election. The fact that he won the party deputy president's post in the August 2008 MCA elections against a sitting cabinet minister in Datuk Ong Ka Chuan showed that most party members had put the scandal behind them. Chua's critics, however, argue that the sex video will be a liability once the party goes head on to campaign in the next general election. They also say that at 62, his time may have passed and it is better for the party to turn to younger leaders. Ironically, it is to a past leader, albeit someone younger than Chua, that some members of the party are turning to to take the party out of its current mess. Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, 54, is being cajoled to come out of retirement. Ong chose not to defend his post as party president to take responsibility for the near disastrous performance of the MCA in the 2008 general election. But the new leadership, rather than working together to restore the strength of the party, ended up fighting each other these past 18 months. "Tee Keat, Soi Lek and Liow (Tiong Lai) were all responsible in different ways at different times for the state of the party today," said one party veteran. "Since they contributed to the problem, can they then be the solution?" Ka Ting, he said, is the only choice because others like Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Lim Ah Lek are too old while Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy has the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) baggage. "The only thing some people can use against Ka Ting is the poor performance of the MCA in the 2008 general election but that was more a protest vote against Umno than against MCA," said the party veteran. "And it must be noted that he voluntarily retired as president and did not try to cling on to power at all costs." Ka Ting's supporters also stressed the point that after he took over from Ling to end the Team A versus Team B struggle of the early 2000s, he did a commendable job uniting the two factions by accommodating a number of Team B leaders. Ka Ting and Chua were part of Team A led by Ling, while Tee Keat and Liow were supporters of the Team B faction led by Lim Ah Lek. It is interesting to note that Lim was the first leader to come out and urge Ka Ting to go for the No 1 position. MCA insiders said that this was a tacit signal to Ka Ting that if he agrees to contest, Liow, who is deemed a protege of Lim and Chan, will likely support Ka Ting and opt to go for the deputy post and not the presidency as expected. "He can take on Chua and Tee Keat in a three-cornered fight if he teams up with Liow," said one MCA insider. Liow, who has not declared what post he will contest, is currently a vice-president. It is common knowledge that Liow and Chua do not trust each other because of Liow's alleged involvement in the sex video snoop squad. As for a possible partnership with Tee Keat, Liow is still bitter over the Brutus tag that the president's faction used on him after he said Tee Keat should resign as president following the October 2009 EGM. What about the incumbent president? Tee Keat faces an uphill battle because his support among the delegates has plummeted to around 600 as evident by the numbers at the AGM on March 7, 2010. Political observers said although Tee Keat has acknowledged his mistake for being "overzealous" in pushing through party reforms and the public in general support his daring leadership in exposing the PKFZ scandal, as party president for the past 18 months he would have to take the major blame for the state of the party today. "He is asking for a second chance but the reality is that on his own it will be tough," said the party insider. "He won in 2008 because he had the support of the Ong brothers, Kong Choy and Liow. These people are no longer with him. He is back to being a lone ranger. " But the lone ranger has over the course of his political career shown that he is like a cat with nine lives so he can't be ruled out completely. With nomination set for March 22, much more horse trading can be expected in the days ahead while endless dinners are expected on the ground for leaders to woo the delegates. There may yet be further twists and turns right up to March 28. This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, March 15, 2010. Source: http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/highlights/161557-intense-horse-trading-ahead-of-mca-polls.html --------------------------------------------- Wonder..... Ka Ting - the silent and patient killer.... why?   **all hearsay below**  CSL has all reasons to believe that the sex video was done by the TOP leadership of the party - guess who? And to have CSL - the no-nonsense minister to admit that the man in the video is him - it should be someone really knowing him and his character - guess who?  So the savior has come to rescue the MCA crisis - who stirred up the crisis - OTK? Think again.... If such "noble" mind and "savior" or "helping" MCA - why not do it during the party crisis but suddenly come out to "save-the-party" - what a savior?