MCA vice president Liow Tiong Lai who to date has failed to get enough Central Committee (CC) members to resign and push for fresh party polls, will now leave the matter to the crisis-ridden party's top two leaders.

NONELiow, following developments which did not favour him, said he hoped that party president Ong Tee Keat and his deputy Dr Chua Soi Lek would do something to resolve the party's protracted crisis.

"I've done my part. Now I leave it to Ong and Chua to do the rest. The ball is at their feet now. It is up to them to discharge their respective responsibilities," Liow, the health minister, told reporters after attending a ministerial function, today.

Last month, Liow and 12 others CC members had tendered their resignation letters to call for fresh polls with the hope of resolving the party's crisis.

However to date, his faction is still short of eight resignations to pave the way for fresh polls, while at the Presidential Council last Tuesday, Chua had said that the matter will now be left to the CC to decide.

Liow reiterated that since the party's top leaders had agreed to fresh polls, they should commit to it.

"We had achieved agreement and commitment, so there is no problem for the polls. Fresh polls are a way to rebuild the party," he said.

Briefing of GST

Earlier at another event, Liow who is also MCA Chinese Guilds and Associations Consultative Bureau chairperson had a meeting with the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM).

Liow said Deputy Finance Minister Chor Chee Heung had been tasked to work with ACCCIM to organise roadshows and meetings to brief the grassroots on the government's plan to implement the goods and services tax (GST).

Besides Liow, also present at the meeting were Chor, Youth chief Dr Wee Ka Siong and Wanita chief Chew Mei Fun. The trio are aligned to the vice president.

Last Tuesday, the MCA Presidential Council had set up a special committee on GST headed by a CC member Chua Tee Yong.

When asked by reporters about the two committees, Liow denied they had overlapping functions.

"They are complementing each other as the party is trying its best to reach out to the people and to explain to them about the GST in order to avoid any confusion," he said.

- Bernama