KUALA LUMPUR: It looks like MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi will not be having dinner with party chief Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat anytime soon to mend fences.

Dr Chua yesterday spurned an offer by party secretary-general Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng to mediate between the two over dinner later this week.

He said he did not need a mediator to patch things up.

"I do not need a mediator. In any case, I have not been invited for dinner by Tee."

Tee was earlier reported as saying that he would invite both leaders to dinner to resolve their differences.
"I thank Tee for his good intentions. And like I told him on Monday, working together (with Ong) is not a problem.

"I met with Ong three days after the party elections and told him that we need to close ranks. Otherwise, come the next general election, the Chinese community will know what to do (vote the MCA out)."

He said he and Ong were grown men "and not small boys".

"We claim to lead the second-largest political party in the country and if we cannot put aside our differences, then it will be a sad day for MCA."

Dr Chua said although the ball was in Ong's court, he was willing to close ranks and cooperate with the party chief.

"But it would help if Ong showed a bit more sincerity. Maybe I have lau hua (blurry vision) now. I don't see and feel things as sharply as I did before. So maybe that's why I don't feel that Ong is being sincere."



He added that Ong had every right to solidify his power and position but it should not be at the expense of the grassroots' wishes.



Dr Chua also said the press had been speculating that he had been sidelined by Ong.

"It is a term coined by the press and not by me."