Former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik has urged an end to the ongoing spat between sitting MCA president Liow Tiong Lai and his predecessor Dr Chua Soi Lek.

“All this has got to come to a stop. When you accept to go for an election you must accept the result of the election.

“Otherwise (for) the whole life (there will be) no end, like in Thailand,” Ling told a press conference in Kajang today.

He said this in response to a question on whether the Liow-Chua spat would have an impact on the party.

Earlier, Ling repeatedly refused to comment about the alleged ‘peace deal’ that Chua had accused Liow of breaking, which Chua said was made prior to the MCA election of December last year.

“That peace deal was never revealed to us, so it is unfair for me to comment,” insisted Ling.

‘Utar and KTAR to be consolidated’

On another matter, Ling revealed that Liow has appointed him to head a committee to consolidate all four educational institutions under the party.

These institutions are Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar), Tunku Abdul Rahman College (KTAR), Koperasi Jayadiri Malaysia Bhd (Kojadi) and Centre for Early Childhood Education (CECE).

“It is a new (MCA leadership), it is a new idea and we support it.

“Anything that makes education a more consolidated effort by the MCA and by the Chinese community is welcomed,” he said, adding that they will still be open to all races.

Ling, who is also Utar council chairperson, said the goal was to cover every aspect of education from early childhood education to doctorates.

“We have not thought of a name yet but it will be something like ‘United Tunku Abdul Rahman University’ system,” he said.

Clarifying later, Utar president Chuah Hean Teik said the consolidation does not amount to a merger.

“It is not just about sharing resources but also to put them under one system,” Chuah said.

It was also announced at the press conference that Chuah was among the individuals annually named as a fellow by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers of the United States.

'Peace deal' criticised

Meanwhile, in a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today, defeated presidential candidate Gan Ping Sieu chided Liow and Chua for cutting such a deal.

“To me, it’s caused an unprecedented integrity crisis in the party. It makes party reforms and the recovery process even harder, let alone try to regain the trust and confidence of voters, especially the Chinese,” he said.

The former party vice president also said the party’s credibility was at stake and should the public lose respect for MCA, it would show in the next general election.

With this, he demanded Chua and Liow to reveal the contents of the peace deal, if there was one.

Gan (left), however, said he was unsure if the party polls held last month was tainted by the purported peace agreement or if it amounted to corrupt practice.

“But even if the election is legal, the legitimacy of the election and the elected leaders to lead the party is under question,” he asserted.

Asked if he was implying the occurrence of money politics, Gan said he was merely speculating if the peace deal amounted to poll-rigging by including agreements to allocate party positions.

Refusing to answer if he would call for fresh polls, Gan, who is a lawyer, said he did not study if the peace deal was illegal or against the regulations of the Registrar of Societies.

Liow tightlipped

Subsequently, Liow held a press conference after chairing his maiden presidential council meeting, but remained tightlipped on journalists' questions about the peace deal content.

Despite numerous questions from the press, Liow neither admitted nor denied if the deal existed but only stressed that this was history.

Urging the party comrades to move forward, Liow said the decision made by central delegates on the new party leadership should be respected.

On Gan's legal concerns, Liow said no one was banned from contesting in the party polls under the agreement, hence it did not violate the law or the party constitution.


Additional reporting by Kow Kwan Yee.