MCA central committee group goes ahead with EGM

2009/11/06

KUALA LUMPUR, Fri: The group of 16 MCA central committee (CC) members who favour fresh party elections will go ahead and hold an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) at the party headquarters here on Nov 28.

They have booked Dewan San Choon for the meeting, scheduled for 10am, after MCA secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng said he was not duty bound to act on their request for an EGM which was submitted on Oct 29.

The party's new legal chief, Lim Hong San, who replaced his sacked predecessor, had advised that it was uncontitutional and unworkable.

"We are sending out all the notices today," said CC member Wong Nai Chee who was one of those who had requested the EGM.

"We believe that the political crisis in the MCA is best resolved by way of a fresh election for the central delegates to voice out and decide the future of the MCA," Wong told reporters at Wisma MCA today.

Wong said that the requisition for the EGM by at least a third of the CC members was in accordance with Article 30.2 of the party constitution and the notice of the EGM was according to Article 31.

Article 31 states: "Should the notice calling for the Extraordinary Meeting of the General Assembly not be issued for any reason whatsoever within five days from the date of receipt of the requisition, the named requisitionists or any one of them representing all requisitionist may issue the required notices to all delegates to the General Assembly."

Wong said the en bloc resignation of the party disciplinary committee yesterday attested to the the dissatisfaction within the MCA.

The five-member disciplinary panel led by party veteran Ng Cheng Kiat, who had sacked the now reinstated deputy president, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, submitted their resignation letters to the party secretary-general's office yesterday.

"The purpose of this EGM is to restore the order and the credibility of the MCA and we trust that it is only then that this can be resolved collectively on Nov 28 by the party central delegates" Wong said.

Wong said the group had taken everything into consideration after consulting their lawyers.

"We have reached a stage where we have lost our credibility, we have lost the order in the party in the sense that we are not following the resolutions made by the EGM (Oct 10) which is the ultimate authority of our party and the voices of over 2,000 central delegates cannot match up even to one letter from a government department," he said.

He was referring to the letter from the Registrar of Societies which ruled that Dr Chua is still the deputy president.

Among the 16 CC members asking for the new EGM are vice-president Tan Kok Hon, Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong and Wanita chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.

The Oct 10 EGM pased a vote of no confidence against party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and restored Dr Chua's party membership but rejected reinstating him in the number two post.

Once rivals, Ong and Dr Chua have since patched up under a "greater unity plan" and Ong has urged party officials to move on from the in-fighting. -- BERNAMA