Serdang member of Parliament Yap Pian Hon urged the MCA leadership to postpone party elections in view of the upcoming Ketari state by-election to be held at the end of the month.

Yap, who is linked to Team B led by the partys deputy leader Lim Ah Lek, said the Ketari by-election should be given priority as the Barisan Nasional candidate is expected to face a tough fight from DAP.

If we are busy with our branch elections it would be difficult to go help the Pahang MCA campaign for the BN candidate, said Yap, who is also an MCA central executive committee member.

We urge the steering committee to consider postponing the party elections so that we can give Ketari our assistance, he added.

Nominations for branch leaders are scheduled for March 26. Branch elections are on March 30 and 31. Meanwhile, Ketari will go to the polls on March 31.

MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik, leader of rival Team A faction, said yesterday in The Star that there was no need to postpone the party elections if 99 percent of all branches have no complaints about the membership list.

He said if only one percent of members were dissatisfied, the other 99 percent should not be denied the right to hold the party elections as scheduled.

However, Ling said it was up to the partys steering committee to postpone the election based on the complaints it received.

He added that only the committee had the jurisdiction to postpone and decide on a new date for the elections if the need arises.

Tainted list

Yap also maintained that the party elections should be postponed as the partys leadership has yet to provide members with a clean membership list.

He said the tainted membership list was confusing the grassroots.

We want the MCA headquarters and steering committee to clarify why the membership list has criminals, underaged people, students and those who are dead, Yap said.

We want the steering committee to explain how the party could have been involved in such activities, he added.

In Klang, MCA vice-president and Team A member Dr Fong Chan Onn, said yesterday that Team B could not delay the party elections as their complaints about the membership list were not substantiated.

Team B had cast doubt on the 135,000 new members recruited within the past year.

MCA leaders have been divided into two camps since the party acquired two Chinese dailies last May.

The party elections, held every three years, will start at branch level this month, division level in April and state level in May. The central leadership will be chosen on June 29 at the national annual general assembly.