VIDEO | 1.30 min

MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong has refuted a claim by suspended former party organising secretary, Tee Siew Keong, who stirred a controversy for going against the party’s position by accepting a Johor exco post.
                
NONETee (left) had earlier said he was ordered by the Johor sultan to represent the Chinese community in the Johor state executive council.

However, Wee said he confirmed with the sultan in an audience on May 24 that the state ruler did not name Tee to take up the exco post.

“From the three-and-a-half-hour audience with sultan, I can tell you all that I have known about how the issue arose.

“The sultan said, 'I want my subjects to be represented in Johor'. He only wanted a Chinese representative and we have three (BN) Chinese state assemblypersons in Johor,” Wee told a press conference at the MCA headquarters this afternoon.

The three assemblypersons are Tee, Teoh Yap Kun (MCA-Paloh) and Lau Chin Hoon (Gerakan-Pemanis).

Wee said he did not check with Lau for more details as Lau is from another BN component party.

'Issue crystal clear after audience'

However, he said the issue was “crystal clear” to him after his audience with the Johor sultan.

He added that he was duty bound to reveal what took place during the audience in order to reveal the truth.

"I have got the approval from the sultan that I can reveal this, when need be.

"The reason I want to reveal it now is because I want to restore the truth and I don't want someone to pass on a false command from the royalty," he said, without naming anybody.

According to Wee, a special assistant to the prime minister was also presented during the audience.

NONEHe said the sultan was very understanding, that he has the political wisdom to understand the situation.

"I don't wish to see anybody dragging the sultan into this issue. Somebody claims that a certain person was forced to take up the post and he will face the music if he says 'No'.

"This kind of statement is disrespect and not fair to the sultan," Wee said.

Yesterday, a Johor-based Malay NGO lodged a police report against Wee, demanding the Ayer Hitam MP makes a public apology for "insulting the Johor sultan" with his call for Tee to be sacked for accepting the state exco post.

Holding a newspaper cutting of the report, Wee said he needed to explain the issue in order to prevent any unnecessary controversy.

Ironically, the two newspapers that published the report - Utusan Malaysia and New Straits Times - did not send any journalist to cover Wee's press conference today, prompting Wee to criticise the two Umno-linked media as “irresponsible”.

Wee said it was not he alone in calling for Tee to be sacked by MCA. This was the unanimous decision of the MCA Youth central committee, which had met on May 20 to discuss the issue.

He said any member who goes against the party resolution not to accept any government post should be sacked, since the decision was made by the highest decision-making body of the party.

In view of this, he said, he had also briefed the party presidential council about his audience with the sultan.

"I have made it clear that Tee must be sacked. Other leaders also share this opinion," he said.

Tee was suspended for three years by the MCA presidential council, which yesterday discussed this recommendation made by the party disciplinary committee.

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