MCA Youth chief o­ng Tee Keat made a brief appearance at the party disciplinary committee hearing today to hand over a written submission o­n the charge that he had tarnished the party's image.

Ong, who is also deputy sports and youth minister, met with the disciplinary committee for about five minutes at the MCA headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and later held a press conference at the same venue.

MCA initiated disciplinary proceedings against him for alleging that the party was infiltrated by triad elements, casting doubt o­n the management of the Chang Ming Thien Foundation fund, and for not being respectful of the leadership.

Ong - who is also party vice-president - is aligned to Team B, the faction led by deputy president Lim Ah Lek and which is in open conflict with president Dr Ling Liong Sik's Team A.

Claims countered

In his nine-page submission, the Youth leader said: "It is unnecessary for (me) to reply to the complaint made against me in this proceeding. My presence is merely out of respect to the committee formed under the party's constitution."

However, he stressed that his respect did not extend to the "credibility of the individuals comprising the committee".

Ong claimed the proceeding against him was "invalid" under Article 123 of the party's constitution as the letter sent to him stated that the committee was requested to do so by the presidential council and not by the president.

He denied that he had tarnished the image of the party, adding that the committee had failed to refer to any specific documents to back the claims.

On being critical of the leadership, he stressed that it was his right to do so, while his allegation that there are triad elements in the party was "part of the larger subject of money politics raised by the secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Peh and Ling (photo) during the party's 54th anniversary (celebrations)".

"Since it is not wrong for the president and the secretary-general to raise the subject of money politics, how can it be wrong for the MCA vice-president cum MCA Youth chief to raise the issue of triad politics, being a sub-set of the subject of money politics?" he asked.

"If, (as) the leader of the Youth section, I am not allowed to raise issues affecting the party, (then) this would reduce and diminish the role and position of the MCA Youth chief to merely that of a figure head or puppet."

He also claimed the presidential council acted in "bad faith" because it had accepted his explanation regarding the Chang Ming Thien fund issue earlier.

Proceeding 'invalid'

On the claim that he was trying to use the issue of loan sharks to tarnish the party's image, he said he did not make any reference to "politicians in the government" as alleged.

He added that he referred to "influential politicians and non-governmental organisations".

"I further wish to state that as the deputy minister of the government, the MCA vice-president, MCA Youth chief and the deputy chairperson of Barisan Nasional Youth, I have the duty, obligation and responsibility to raise the issue of public interest even though it may be sensitive to certain quarters. I cannot betray the people and Youth members' trust and confidence in me."

Ong also urged the committee to strike off all complaints against him since they were "irregular".

"The proceeding is not initiated in accordance with the constitution, hence the committee is not properly constituted and its decision is invalid and not binding.

"I also submit that the committee (members) ought to disqualify themselves from investigating and adjudicating upon me," he added.

Independent and neutral

At a press conference later, disciplinary committee chairperson Kam Woon Wah said a decision has yet to be made o­n the matter.

"He (Ong) was accompanied by his two lawyers and o­nly presented the written submission, saying that (the submission) is all he wanted to say. We need another meeting to make the decision," he said.

Kam, who said he was satisfied with the committee's progress, added that the decision would be made at the next meeting which could be held in a week's time. The report will be submitted to the presidential council.

On the Youth leader's claim that the proceeding was not in accordance with the constitution, Kam said the committee needed more time to study the matter.

"We are independent and neutral in investigation," he said.

Responding to a report submitted by three branch leaders this morning urging the committee to call businessman Soh Chee Wen (photo) to testify at the hearing - because Soh had claimed to know two senior MCA leaders guilty of money politics - Kam said there was no need for this at the moment.

"Our committee is very clear that we can o­nly initiate investigation into cases referred to us by the president," he said.

Meanwhile, a group of 50 members aligned to Team A, protested outside the party headquarters for about o­ne hour, holding banners and requesting the committee to uphold discipline.

The group were led by Youth vice-chairperson Hang Chin Pheng, joint secretary-general Loh Seng Kok and Ling's son, Hee Leong, who is the adviser for Lembah Pantai branch.

Commenting o­n the protest at a press conference later, o­ng said: "The truth will never be drowned by the loudness of the noise, in particular noise orchestrated by certain quarters who have been involved in the cases."