MCA polls: Is the tide finally turning?
Stanley KohPublished: Oct 20, 2008 4:37 AM | Updated: Oct 20, 2008 4:46 AM
comment American Indian comedian and humorist William Roger once described elections to the bridal pair in a marriage ceremony.
“There is no accounting for taste. Every time we see a bridegroom, we wonder why she ever picked him, and it’s the same with (elected) public officials.”
comment American Indian comedian and humorist William Roger once described elections to the bridal pair in a marriage ceremony.
“There is no accounting for taste. Every time we see a bridegroom, we wonder why she ever picked him, and it’s the same with (elected) public officials.”
When the MCA poll results reached the public on Saturday night, many were stunned that former MCA vice-president Dr Chua Soi Lek had made a comeback - as deputy president - after having resigned from all party and government posts in January over a sex scandal.
The ushering in of new president Ong Tee Keat and Chua also raised fresh speculative concern that their contrasting and headstrong personalities will sow the seed for more internal crises.
The Chinese saying ‘a mountain cannot shelter two tigers’ is a good illustration of the predicament - tigers are fiercely territorial and will not share their hunting ground.
Soi Lek tried to allay fears, saying: “When you’re a deputy, you must know how to behave as a team player. However, it does not mean you always have to agree (with the president).
“We can agree to disagree but more importantly, we must know how to work together to strengthen the party, to reinvent the party to ensure we receive support from the community and Malaysians. We should support, coordinate and help the president.”
Stressing the need for the duo to find common ground, the longest-serving central committee member Wong Mook Leong told Malaysiakini: “Tee Keat and Soi Lek have to work together; (somehow) they have to find ways to work together.”
Soi Lek, who had been hounded by journalists who cast doubt on his ability to cooperate with the president, finally informed the assembly in theatrical fashion and speaking in Hokkien, that the “Ong-Chua partnership is like oong-chai (fried kangkung or water convolvulus)”.
“It is a good dish but some like to add belacan (spicy fermented shrimp) to it,” he said, referring to the potential for conflict being introduced deliberately by certain quarters to divide him and Tee Keat.
In his concluding remarks, Tee Keat responded: “I don’t know about the oong-chai, it all depends on the cook (delegates).”
Oong-chai is also a play on the Mandarin pronunciation of ‘Ong’ and ‘Chua’.
Tee Keat trounced challenger Chua Jui Meng (right) for the presidency by 512 votes, capturing 1,429 of the 2,335 valid votes cast by 2,378 central delegates.
Soi Lek garnered 1,115 votes or 47.8 percent of the total, defeating secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan, the brother of out-going president Ka Ting, in a four-cornered contest.
New political alignments
Also of interest is the possible metamorphosis in political alignments arising out of the Ong-Chua ‘marriage’ solemnised on Saturday at the party’s 55th general assembly.
Tee Keat’s next move is widely anticipated to be a strategic one to balance supporting forces through appointments at the party’s central level. He may also reshuffle MCA’s ministerial posts, possibly to coincide with the post-Umno election scenario next March.
Two of the four elected vice-presidents - Liow Tiong Lai and Kong Cho Ha - are aligned to Tee Keat, but the other two - Tan Kok Hong (Soi Lek’s former secretary) and Ng Yen Yen - are not.
Pundits believe that Tee Keat will consolidate his position through the posts of secretary-general and treasurer-general. The party constitution requires these appointments to be made in consultation with the central committee, but the president has the power of prerogative.
But he should remember the outcome of Ka Ting’s promotion of Ka Chuan as secretary-general in 2005, in a bid to keep the latter politically afloat after his defeat in the 2004 Alor Gajah parliamentary election.
Playwright George Bernard Shaw’s point, ‘political necessities sometimes turn out to be political mistakes’, was proven right. Ka Ting’s move antagonised some quarters in the central committee and cost him some loyalty among rank-and-file members.
It also confirmed that the ballot is stronger than the bullet, as American president Abraham Lincoln once said.
Ka Chuan was defeated by Soi Lek for the deputy presidency by just 114 votes. He has suffered loss of ‘face’ despite getting 42.9 percent or 1,001 votes and being housing and local government minister. His defeat also spells the end of the so-called Ong-Ong political dynasty in MCA.
Borrowing from American writer Carl Sandburg, a politician should have three hats: one for throwing into the ring, the second for talking through and the last, for pulling rabbits out of it if (not) elected.
It is not known what Ka Chuan will pull out of his hat now.
Winning and losing
No part of a politician’s education is more indispensable than contesting an election.
The 2008 party elections have taught the MCA central delegates an important lesson on managing top leaders through the ballot box. A close parallel is found in the March general election, when ‘people power’ held sway.
Some MCA state and divisional leaders were angered by short text messages featuring a cai dan (candidacy slate) purportedly sent out by party headquarters two days before the polls.
“I received it five times a day,” an irritated central delegate said.
It led to fingers being pointed at certain political actors and eventually led to widespread murmuring about a likely ‘political tsunami’. This was spearheaded by unidentified central delegates from various states who claimed that they were capable of influencing bloc votes.
Discreet bargaining for votes not only saw the political comeback of several rank-and-file leaders who were elected into the central committee, but also ‘cleansing’ to get rid of some leaders.
Justice was seen to be done to those previously marginalised. Loh Seng Kok, who had been dropped as candidate for the Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat, was beaming with joy after being elected to the central committee.
Many candidates, like Soi Lek, admitted that the elections have proved to be a fierce and tiring battle.
In his hour of victory, Tee Keat said: “From start to finish, I’ve never said I’ve won, but there were people who said otherwise (that they have already won).”
Many of those defeated took the loss in stride, attributing this to part of the democratic process. They also learnt, as humorist Roger has said, that the “truth can hurt you worse in an election than just about anything that can happen to you”.
Losing an election can be demoralising but candidates should heed the comment that ‘winners make it happen, losers let it happen’.
“There is no accounting for taste. Every time we see a bridegroom, we wonder why she ever picked him, and it’s the same with (elected) public officials.”
When the MCA poll results reached the public on Saturday night, many were stunned that former MCA vice-president Dr Chua Soi Lek had made a comeback - as deputy president - after having resigned from all party and government posts in January over a sex scandal.
The ushering in of new president Ong Tee Keat and Chua also raised fresh speculative concern that their contrasting and headstrong personalities will sow the seed for more internal crises.The Chinese saying ‘a mountain cannot shelter two tigers’ is a good illustration of the predicament - tigers are fiercely territorial and will not share their hunting ground.
Soi Lek tried to allay fears, saying: “When you’re a deputy, you must know how to behave as a team player. However, it does not mean you always have to agree (with the president).
“We can agree to disagree but more importantly, we must know how to work together to strengthen the party, to reinvent the party to ensure we receive support from the community and Malaysians. We should support, coordinate and help the president.”
Stressing the need for the duo to find common ground, the longest-serving central committee member Wong Mook Leong told Malaysiakini: “Tee Keat and Soi Lek have to work together; (somehow) they have to find ways to work together.”
Soi Lek, who had been hounded by journalists who cast doubt on his ability to cooperate with the president, finally informed the assembly in theatrical fashion and speaking in Hokkien, that the “Ong-Chua partnership is like oong-chai (fried kangkung or water convolvulus)”.“It is a good dish but some like to add belacan (spicy fermented shrimp) to it,” he said, referring to the potential for conflict being introduced deliberately by certain quarters to divide him and Tee Keat.
In his concluding remarks, Tee Keat responded: “I don’t know about the oong-chai, it all depends on the cook (delegates).”
Oong-chai is also a play on the Mandarin pronunciation of ‘Ong’ and ‘Chua’.
Tee Keat trounced challenger Chua Jui Meng (right) for the presidency by 512 votes, capturing 1,429 of the 2,335 valid votes cast by 2,378 central delegates. Soi Lek garnered 1,115 votes or 47.8 percent of the total, defeating secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan, the brother of out-going president Ka Ting, in a four-cornered contest.
New political alignments
Also of interest is the possible metamorphosis in political alignments arising out of the Ong-Chua ‘marriage’ solemnised on Saturday at the party’s 55th general assembly.
Tee Keat’s next move is widely anticipated to be a strategic one to balance supporting forces through appointments at the party’s central level. He may also reshuffle MCA’s ministerial posts, possibly to coincide with the post-Umno election scenario next March.
Two of the four elected vice-presidents - Liow Tiong Lai and Kong Cho Ha - are aligned to Tee Keat, but the other two - Tan Kok Hong (Soi Lek’s former secretary) and Ng Yen Yen - are not.
Pundits believe that Tee Keat will consolidate his position through the posts of secretary-general and treasurer-general. The party constitution requires these appointments to be made in consultation with the central committee, but the president has the power of prerogative.
But he should remember the outcome of Ka Ting’s promotion of Ka Chuan as secretary-general in 2005, in a bid to keep the latter politically afloat after his defeat in the 2004 Alor Gajah parliamentary election. Playwright George Bernard Shaw’s point, ‘political necessities sometimes turn out to be political mistakes’, was proven right. Ka Ting’s move antagonised some quarters in the central committee and cost him some loyalty among rank-and-file members.
It also confirmed that the ballot is stronger than the bullet, as American president Abraham Lincoln once said.
Ka Chuan was defeated by Soi Lek for the deputy presidency by just 114 votes. He has suffered loss of ‘face’ despite getting 42.9 percent or 1,001 votes and being housing and local government minister. His defeat also spells the end of the so-called Ong-Ong political dynasty in MCA.
Borrowing from American writer Carl Sandburg, a politician should have three hats: one for throwing into the ring, the second for talking through and the last, for pulling rabbits out of it if (not) elected.
It is not known what Ka Chuan will pull out of his hat now.
Winning and losing
No part of a politician’s education is more indispensable than contesting an election.
The 2008 party elections have taught the MCA central delegates an important lesson on managing top leaders through the ballot box. A close parallel is found in the March general election, when ‘people power’ held sway.
Some MCA state and divisional leaders were angered by short text messages featuring a cai dan (candidacy slate) purportedly sent out by party headquarters two days before the polls.
“I received it five times a day,” an irritated central delegate said.
It led to fingers being pointed at certain political actors and eventually led to widespread murmuring about a likely ‘political tsunami’. This was spearheaded by unidentified central delegates from various states who claimed that they were capable of influencing bloc votes.
Discreet bargaining for votes not only saw the political comeback of several rank-and-file leaders who were elected into the central committee, but also ‘cleansing’ to get rid of some leaders.
Justice was seen to be done to those previously marginalised. Loh Seng Kok, who had been dropped as candidate for the Kelana Jaya parliamentary seat, was beaming with joy after being elected to the central committee.Many candidates, like Soi Lek, admitted that the elections have proved to be a fierce and tiring battle.
In his hour of victory, Tee Keat said: “From start to finish, I’ve never said I’ve won, but there were people who said otherwise (that they have already won).”
Many of those defeated took the loss in stride, attributing this to part of the democratic process. They also learnt, as humorist Roger has said, that the “truth can hurt you worse in an election than just about anything that can happen to you”.
Losing an election can be demoralising but candidates should heed the comment that ‘winners make it happen, losers let it happen’.
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