Wanita MCA head's career on the line

In the aftermath of the MCA polls and change of leadership, Wanita head Chew Mei Fun is trapped in a Catch-22 situation.

She had openly pledged that she would quit her post if Dr Chua Soi Lek became president, on the ground that his acknowledged infidelity goes against the principles of her wing.

Now that Chua has indeed taken over the presidency, Chew is in the Chinese media limelight - for all the wrong reasons.

Confronted by reporters after Chua’s election last Sunday, Chew stood by her statement, but explained that she would have to inform the Wanita leadership before making any announcement.

"What I have said from the beginning has never changed, but I don't want my individual matter to shatter the party. I hope the party can progress steadily," she explained.

Chew, who is also deputy minister of women, family and community development, left for Bangkok the next day to attend a meeting.

She will be back on Friday and will call a Wanita exco meeting before announcing her decision.

Chew was one of the frontliners who had called on former president Ong Tee Keat and Chua (then the deputy president) to step down after resolutions were passed against them at an extraordinary general meeting last October.

Refusing to quit, Tee Keat and Chua came under heavy fire from the ad hoc ‘MCA Integrity Restoring Task Force’ formed by Chew and other party leaders.

Now Chew's own integrity is being tested.

She told Nanyang Siang Pau yesterday that no matter what her decision, her integrity would have the highest priority.

"I can't allow myself to convey the message that politicians have no integrity," she was quoted as saying.

Way out of quandary

Her loyalists in the Women’s wing are desperately trying to think of a face-saving way out for her.

Some have suggested that she stage a 'drama' by resigning and then coming back on the strength of persuasion by the wing. Others have proposed that she quit her government post but keep her party position.

They argue that since Chew was elected by Wanita delegates, any decision pertaining to her position should be made collectively by the wing’s leadership.

Otherwise, they warned, her resignation may cause instability in the party at a time when it is in urgent need of reconciliation.

However, Wanita leaders from the opposing camp were quick to take advantage of the situation.

They said Chew made the pledge to resign without consulting the Wanita leadership and, as such, should not now involve the movement in her decision.

The call for her to resign has been echoed by the cyber-community.

A Facebook group called ‘Support Ms Chew Mei Fun to quit as Wanita chief’ was created soon after the party polls. It has attracted 832 members in just two days, and the number is rising fast.

So far Chua has not responded to the issue.

Some quarters expect that - because reconciling the party's rival factions is his top priority - he will come to her rescue by openly asking her to stay.

This, it is said, could play into his hands and allow him to tighten his grip on the party.

Chew is from a rival group, and her resignation would create a vacancy in the deputy minister’s post, provided that Chua has more resources to spread around to those loyal to him.