Party divided over Ka Ting's re-entry

In what is believed to be the first time in Malaysian political history, a former party president is set to make a comeback to reclaim the post.

Ong Ka Ting's decision to contest the MCA presidency in the party polls on March 28 is not something unexpected although it has kindled the interest of political analysts as well as party members.  

"Nobody has done this before. Therefore, it would be interesting to see whether he would make it or otherwise. His intention may be sincere but the party delegates are divided.

"Some delegates, fed up with the current crisis, may want to put him back (in the president's chair) but there are some quarters in the party who do not want to see him make a comeback," said a political analyst.

Some veteran members of the party believe that Ka Ting will have the edge, whether it is a straight fight or a three-cornered contest, as party members are believed to have had enough of the infighting.

"Not so much Ka Ting's leadership. It is just that people are getting fed up. Anybody who can come in to stabilise the party, the members are happy to put up with him," said a veteran leader who declined to be identified.

Party insiders also believe that some of Ka Ting's supporters, previously known as the 'third force' in the party and consisting of some veteran members as well as those who are not aligned to any faction previously, have laid the ground for him to make a comeback.

"It doesn't happen just like that. If you analyse properly, you would know it was done step by step. First, by successfully forcing fresh elections. Then, rallying the people to ask Ka Ting to make a comeback before he announced his candidacy," one of them said.

However, he said, it would be more interesting to see how Ka Ting will pull together the different forces in the party in this elections as there is still a sizable number of party members who are against him and his elder brother, former party secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan.

"Even if you can work out a no-contest formula, it will still not unite the party," he claimed.

But to other grassroots leaders, it is not so much of whether Ka Ting can win or not but more of how many votes he can muster.

"If he does not win with a convincing majority, he would find it a bit difficult to justify his return, particularly since he has portrayed the image of a saviour and a unifying force in the party," he said.

All eyes now on Soi Lek

In the last party elections, Ka Ting was among the leaders who backed Ong Tee Keat to contest the presidency against former vice-president Chua Jui Meng.

Now, eyes would be on former deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek as he is expected to make an announcement on Friday on the post he is going to contest.

As more than 50 of the 198 divisions have called for Ka Ting's return to the party leadership, it remains to be seen whether Dr Chua would join the fight for the presidency. If he does, then it would become a three-cornered contest, which is likely to split the party into three groups.  

Last Saturday, Ka Ting strongly hinted that he would throw his hat into the ring when he said he would not shy away from the task if he could help the party but both Tee Keat and Chua have ruled out the possibility of Ka Ting making a return.

In fact, Chua also criticised the former president for allegedly not having done anything when the party was in crisis and questioned the need for Ka Ting to make a comeback.

Nomination for the MCA polls is on Monday.

- Bernama