MCA today appointed Johor state exco Tan Kok Hong as the MCA acting state chief to take over from Dr Chua Soi Lek who resigned from the post last week.

The decision was made by the party’s 41-member central committee members at a five-hour meeting at the MCA headquarters in Kuala Lumpur today. At the same time, the party also decided not to fill in the vacant vice-president slot which was held by Chua.

Party president Ong Ka Ting announced these changes to reporters at the end of the central committee meeting.

Ong said that there would be no other changes in the remaining line-up in the state committee. He added that Tan will continue to hold the post without a specific time frame.

The vacant party vice-president’s post meanwhile will be left unfilled until the next party election, he added.

Tan, who is currently deputy state chief and Bekok state assemblyperson, is known to be a supporter of Chua. He refused to comment on his appointment when approached by reporters later.

The decision today is seen as a move to defuse possible tension that would have arisen in the event Ong decided to assume the Johor state chief post, as he was widely tipped to do. Such a move would have given more ammunition to those crying of a political plot behind Chua’s downfall.

Chua, who was also health minister, resigned from the party and government posts abruptly last week after being caught on tape of having sex with a female “personal friend”. He is married with three children.

The footage, apparently recorded with four hidden cameras in a hotel room in Batu Pahat, was widely circulated by unknown individuals in Chua’s political base - his home state of Johor.

This has triggered speculation that it could have been the work of party insiders seeking to kill off Chua’s political career. He had risen to the No 3 post in the 2005 party elections after obtaining the second-highest number of votes among the four vice-presidents.

Chua, 61, was said to be eyeing the top two posts in the forthcoming party elections and was set to pose a strong challenge to Ong or his deputy Chan Kong Choy, if he chose to challenge them.

Culprit? We’re curious too

Pressed on whether any top party leader was involved on Chua’s downfall, Ong chose to remain mum by neither denying nor agreeing to the question.

“We are also very curious to know. If anybody has the information, we will want the police to go very hard into this, we condemn this very unethical, underhanded tactic,” he said, adding that “when you talk about this, I also get worked up.”

He however once again ruled out an internal party investigation, despite an open call by MCA Youth deputy chief Ling Hee Leong yesterday.

“Well, if he (Ling) has very concrete proof, we will definitely make sure the police look at all those evidence because the police is a professional and independent body.”

In making the call yesterday, Ling - son of ex-party president Dr Ling Liong Sik - said: “We are a transparent party with healthy political culture. We must get to the bottom of this because this is not the president’s or the secretary-general’s (Ka Ting’s elder brother, Ka Chuan) party.”

On Chua’s intention to travel nationwide to explain his controversial exit to MCA grassroots should Ong gives him the nod, the party president threw the ball back into the former’s court.

“He hasn’t made the request to me. Since there is no request, we didn’t discuss about it today... (But) each citizen is entitled to certain fundamental rights (to movement), so we can’t stop them, it is their individual right,” he replied.

The MCA president evaded another question on why he recommended himself as the acting health minister, apart from saying it was the premier’s prerogative.