Thursday March 18, 2010
It's back to the same delegates
ANALYSIS
By WONG SAI WAN
The question before those at the MCA fresh polls will be to select a team that can work together
THREE Chinese datuks were engrossed in a discussion about the latest developments in the run-up to the MCA fresh election a over dinner at one of the more popular seafood restaurants in Petaling Jaya a couple of days ago.
The businessmen could not understand why so many people were interested in becoming president, "especially since the party was no longer relevant" as proven by the March 8 general election in 2008.
However, a fourth person at the dining table reminded them that the MCA must mean something to them if they had spent three hours talking about the party.
"It shows that you still care about the MCA otherwise you would not be so passionate in your discussion."
A week earlier, there had been a gathering of SUPP Youth leaders at the home of party president Tan Sri George Chan in Kuching on a cool evening. Chan had invited his young members over for a few drinks and for an exchange of ideas since the state election was "round the corner".
After a short while, the discussion focused on what was happening in the MCA. All of the young leaders had their opinions as to who was the better MCA leader and how this or that person would affect Sarawak.
Chan explained to a guest from the peninsula that the Chinese in Sarawak were interested in what was happening in the peninsula especially the MCA as it was of relevance to them.
After the disastrous performance in the 12th general election, many people had publicly written off the MCA as a political force as it won only 47 seats then, compared with 106 seats in the previous election. Except for Johor, it lost badly in all other states in the west coast of the peninsula.
They accepted that the Chinese voters had overwhelmingly voted for the Opposition and this was a direct rejection of the MCA.
Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, the former president who announced his decision to contest the top post a few days ago, took responsibility for the party's failure by declining to be appointed to the Cabinet and then refusing to defend his number one party post.
This was supposed to be the start of the renewal process and the central delegates on Oct 18, 2008 took to heart the call for renewal and voted in one of the biggest mixed bag of leaders.
For the first time since Tan Sri Lee San Choon, a former Youth chief (Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat) was elected as president. For the first time also, a woman (Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen) was elected as one of the four vice-presidents. There were many other firsts in the Oct 18 party election like the largest number of candidates for the vice-presidency. There was also the historic four-cornered fight for the deputy presidency which Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek won.
His victory was also unique because it was also the first time a party leader who had quit a lower post over a scandal was promoted to a higher position.
The turnout of the delegates was considered to be the highest in the party's history with less than a handful of absentees from the 2,378 central delegates qualified to attend the AGM.
Despite the many historical firsts, the choice of the delegates did not work. The team that they elected just did not gel, so once again the same delegates are being asked to go back to the ballot box. They must pass judgment once more on the same characters they had scrutinised so closely about 18 months ago.
Except for Datuk Seri Chua Jui Meng who has defected to Parti Keadilan Rakyat, it is almost certain the candidates will be the same people that the delegates had to choose in the Oct 18, 2008 election.
Perhaps, then the central delegates had reacted to the bad mauling they received in the general election and voted in a team they thought could do the job differently. Now almost two years on, they will cast their votes again and hopefully this time they will choose a team that can work together.
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Interesting read......
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