Soi Lek keeping 'options open' on party presidency
PKR vice-president Chua Jui Meng believes that MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek is keeping his options open on whether to re-contest for the presidential post in the coming party polls or instead, push for his son Chua Tee Yong to climb to the top of the party ladder.
VIDEO | 2:31 mins
PKR vice-president Chua Jui Meng believes that MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek is keeping his options open on whether to re-contest for the presidential post in the coming party polls or instead, push for his son Chua Tee Yong to climb to the top of the party ladder.
Jui Meng (right), who used to be MCA vice-president before joining PKR in 2007, teased that Soi Lek is a “good father”.
“He (Soi Lek) may be thinking of contesting because the opposition against him is not that strong, or another possibility is that he would bring his son, Tee Yong, to the centre of gravity of the party, like a good father,” Jui Meng said.
Soi Lek, he said, had been enthusiastically going around the country to address the party’s delegates and the grassroots.
“As a retiring president, he (Soi Lek) won’t be doing that unless he keeps his options open,” Jui Meng told a press conference at PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya today.
Should Soi Lek decide not to contest, Jui Meng speculated that this would be the bargaining chip for him to ask MCA members to consider his son for the post.
Asked if the power tussle this time around was similar to the factions of 'Team A' and 'Team B' during the 1990s, Jui Meng said the condition was not the same.
He said the ‘Team A and Team B’ issue involved matters of party reformation and policy, like the party’s move to buy local Chinese daily Nan Yang Siang Pau that created dissidents in the party.
“This time it's just a power struggle,” he said.
'The tussle took place in 1999, before the acquisition of Nanyang Siang Pau, when then-party president Dr Ling Siong Sik headed ‘Team A’ to go against ‘Team B’ led by his deputy Lim Ah Lek.
Lim had wanted to nominate Chan Kong Choy to take over Lim’s post, however, the latter instead nominated Ong Ka Ting to be the party’s president, widening the rift.
In any case, father or son, whichever Chua decides to run for the post of president this year will face MCA deputy president Liow Tiong Lai (left).
Liow had last month announced his decision to contest for the presidential post in the coming polls.
