I refer to Malaysiakini report EGM 2, Ong’s last gamble.

Ong Tee Keat, the embattled MCA president, can be likened to a man drowning while holding on to a straw as he plays his last gambit calling for a second EGM to save his political career. He seems to be opposed by a majority of the party central committee members headed by his newly- crowned deputy, Liow Tiong Lai.

There seems to be mutiny on the MCA ship as his so-called comrades-in-arms want the transport minister to honour his promise to resign after failing to secure the necessary numbers at the first EGM which did not accept his proposals to reform the party and to secure his position in the MCA.

As the saying goes ‘there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics, only permanent interests. Ong should know that while one holds power and position in a political party, there will be true enemies and false friends who will kiss your hands passionately but will quickly abandon you like rats fleeing a sinking ships when the chips are down. Brutus-like characters will show their true colors when you are down and out.

The last thing the embattled MCA president needs right now is to fight yet another battle with new political opponents who want to seize the opportunity to climb up the ladder in politics at the expense of their own president who seems to be on the last leg of his political career.

Ong Tee Keat has only himself to blame for the predicament that he is in as he had earlier promised earlier to resign from office if the delegates rejected his resolutions. As the Malay proverbs says it’s succinctly ‘Lembu pegang pada tali, manusia pegang pada Janji’.

Ong cannot back out of his promise to vacate the president post’s now that the delegates have gave him a vote of ‘no confidence’ at the EGM meeting.

The embattled transport minister should do the honourable thing like his former party deputy who was caught in a sex scandal and quit his positions in the party as well as in the government in order for the MCA to win back Chinese support.

One expects leaders to be men of principle who are willing to sacrifice their big positions when the situation demands that they do that for the betterment of the party they represent.

Tan Siew Sin , the able finance minister and MCA president left his position in the party as well as senior minister in 1974 in a huff because he failed to be selected as the new deputy prime minister after the demise of Ismail Abdul Rahman.

Being a senior cabinet minister then, Siew Sin thought he had the credentials to move up the ladder in government and become then prime minister Abdul Razak’s deputy. How na ï ve could he be.

Another former president of MCA, Tan Koon Swan who fought a long battle with his former president Neo Yee Pan, had to resign his high post after he was jailed by the authorities in Singapore due to his involvement in the manipulation of share prices in the republic.

Umno top guns have given subtle hints that MCA leaders should respect their delegates’ resolutions and therefore the embattled MCA president should make way for others. One would think that Ong Tee Keat might be dropped from the cabinet if he fails to adhere to his earlier promise to resign and let his new deputy take over.

Politics is all about horse-trading and Ong cannot fight the battle alone if his fellow MCA top guns and cabinet members don’t give him full support. The embattled transport minister should not have laid all his cards on the table during the last EGM and expect to remain in office after a vote of no confidence is passed against his leadership.

MCA can be likened to the Malay saying ‘Hidup segan, mati tak mahu’. The Chinese voters had abandoned theMCA during the last general elections and the political impasse faced by the second-largest party in BN will only weaken the coalitions when the next general elections are held.

At the rate the party is going, it would be better if the party ‘closed shop’ as presently there are no strong leaders within who can command the support among the various camps to unite them under ‘one voice’ to reclaim their past glory.

The MCA needs another S Samy Vellu, a ‘tyrant’ who has controlled the MIC for more than 30 years now without being challenged for his top post. A weakling can never last in a top post as other political aspirants would go all the way to topple you when the opportunity arises.

This is politics, Malaysian-style where those holding the fort will use all the means possible to remain in power regardless of whether the consequences of their actions will erode public support during election time.

And will the departure of Ong Tee Keat from his cabinet post prevent the details of the Port Klang Free Zone from reaching the public? You guess is as good as mine.