The Pandan MCA division has distanced itself from a party member allegedly behind a "citizenship for sale" scam.

At a press conference today, Pandan MCA head Leong Kok Wee said the man was a stranger to Pandan MCA, although he was once the BN candidate for the Pandan parliamentary seat.

"No one knows him. After losing the election, he was not seen by anyone in the area anymore.

"He was not an active member in any of MCA activities and meetings even before the general election," Leong said.

He was responding to complaints raised by Kong Kon Chioong against the man for failing to fulfill a promise to help him seek citizenship rights for a friend in exchange for RM400,000.

Kong lodged a police report on the matter last Saturday and identified the man as someone who claimed to be the Pandan MCA legal bureau chief and that the last transaction took place this year.

Leong said the actual legal bureau chief over the past four years was somebody else.

Meanwhile, Leong said he was not able to verify if the person accused of scamming Kong was a MCA member and that he would check with the party headquarters later.

"However, regardless of whether (that person) is a MCA member or not, he is certainly not the legal bureau chief," he added.

DAP man told to back off

Meanwhile, MCA religious harmony bureau secretary Chris Daniel Wong said it was irresponsible to link the actions of the said man to the party.

"No party, either ruling or opposition, will sanction any of its members, to conduct business for his/her own self, for personal gain using the party's name.

"There is no necessity to allude any misappropriation or abuse to MCA as a party, as MCA has been carrying out, and continues to carry out social and political services for free, and many times have contributed financially to help the public," he said in a statement today.

In view of this, Wong said it was wrong for Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng, from the rival DAP, to "intentionally politicise" an individual's alleged misdeeds and tarnish MCA's image.

"One recalls how a DAP leader had purportedly molested a part time student waitress in Penang. No MCA leaders had tried to exploit this alleged incident and attribute it to DAP.

"Similarly with the current Penang chief minister's corruption case where he had purchased a bungalow below market value - the chief minister does not represent his party DAP when executing the transaction, but as a chief minister when the transaction was completed.

"The same goes with ex-Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Khir Toyo, who was convicted of using his official position as menteri besar to obtain two plots of land and a bungalow unit in Shah Alam," said Wong.

Lim had accompanied Kong to lodge a police report