comment The MCA elections have given members and supporters much to cheer about. In what appears to be major blood transfusion, the party has new faces as president, deputy president and the four elected vice-presidents.

mca agm 191008 ong tee keat pc Apart from 13 newcomers being elected to the 25-strong central executive committee in Saturday’s polls , there are new heads for the Wanita and Youth wings.

In this wave of renewal, the biggest casualty was secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan. His ties to out-going president and younger brother Ong Ka Ting affected him and he lost the bid for deputy presidency despite being tagged as having the ‘goons, guns and gold’.

The candidacy of Donald Lim Siang Chai and Dr Chua Soi Lek for the post had been expected to benefit Ka Chuan. It did not turn out that way and his defeat must mean the delegates must have very strong reasons to ignore him.

One effect of the results could be a parting of ways between the Ong brothers and their mentor, former president Dr Ling Liong Sik.

ling liong sik 01 Liong Sik was upset that his son Hee Leong had lost both in the general election and the Perak MCA Youth leadership contest. The veteran then threw his support behind former vice-president Chua Jui Meng for the presidency against Ong Tee Keat.

Soi Lek who won narrowly will likely ask for a senatorship. It is an open secret that new president Tee Keat does not favour him.

This is due in part to a sex scandal which surfaced late last year and which led to Soi Lek’s resignation in January. They two are likely to experience discomfort in working together now.

ong ka chuan Questions abound as to whether Ka Chuan will lose his ministership to Kong Cho Ha (right) - who took the most votes for in the vice-presidential race - or to Soi Lek who is not a MP.

Tee Keat might be well advised to quickly move Kong up and effectively shut out any opportunity for Soi Lek.

Platform of morality

Chua’s indiscretion may not be a criminal offence, but his actions remains morally suspect. Therefore the issue will continue to cause unease in the Barisan Nasional leadership if he is returned to the cabinet.

The return might be even more untenable with MCA having begun building a platform of ‘moral values’ under Ka Ting. This will undoubtedly be continued by Tee Keat.

ong ka ting mca leaders pc 050808 02 Ka Ting’s bold articulation of frustration felt by MCA and non-bumiputeras with Umno would have ruffled more than a few feathers.

The new leadership is set to continue on that track relentlessly, reflecting voters’ sentiments since the March general election.

Umno will wait for its leadership transition next March to respond comprehensively to this new political environment.

The other 12 BN component parties are unlikely to carry on accepting Umno’s domination. The main partners - MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP - have tasted the wrath of the voters.

Coalition members in Sabah and Sarawak are painfully aware that they will be the next victims if they fail to speak up.

These parties would be comforted by the new direction by MCA, the second-largest BN party. However they’ll have to wait for March to see if ‘big brother’ Umno will take a similar plunge.

Until then they have to sit tight and pray for reform-minded leaders to emerge in Umno.

HO KIN CHAI is a political science lecturer in a Malaysian college.