Incumbent MCA president Ong Tee Keat believed that he is a victim of an elaborate plot, played out over his short tenure, to ultimately remove him in order for the 'third force' to regain control of party resources.

"Firstly, they want control of party resources and extend the political leadership of certain quarters. Obviously, they wanted to find a way to ensure I toe the line and follow their orders to the letter. This, I cannot do," said Tee Keat.

NONE In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini on Wednesday, Tee Keat revisited the probe on Port Klang Free Zone which he spearheaded, the controversial extraordinary general meeting last October and former president Ong Ka Ting's comeback bid.

During the party polls in August 2008, Ka Ting chose not to defend his presidency in an apparent bid to take responsibility for the party's dismal results in the general elections five months earlier.

Though Ka Ting chose to sit it out, he tacitly backed Tee Keat as president and his elder brother Ka Chuan for deputy presidency.

Had Ka Chuan won the deputy presidency, he would have been just a hair away from the throne, and thereby completing what MCA observers have dubbed the 'Ong dynasty' .

Eventually, Tee Keat easily won the presidency while Dr Chua Soi Lek narrowly beat Ka Chuan for deputy presidency in a three-corner fight. Though the brothers have no posts in the new line-up, they still had considerable clout as the central committee mostly consisted of their allies.

PKFZ probe was my undoing

During the interview, Tee Keat acknowledged that the central committee were largely made up of Ka Ting's 'loyalist', but stressed that he kept to his election promise of cooperating with everyone under his leadership.

NONE "Some say I didn't utilise people properly... But you can look at things another way. I did what I pledged to do. I didn't care which faction you (central committee member) belonged to. I utilised all of them.

"Had I not done so, I would have been called other things. But now that I have used them as part of my team, it has resulted in the (crisis) today," said Tee Keat.

According to Tee Keat, during Ka Ting's reign, the party had stayed away from many national issues but this was not his style and immediately commissioned the PKFZ probe soon after being appointed transport minister.

This, said Tee Keat, was likely the straw that broke the camel's back.

"This (probe) hurt those with vested interest. What I didn't expect was that, among them were people from outside the party, including 'financial backers' (of certain party leaders).

"Thus, they will definitely strike back. That's why at the time, I said that there were outside forces behind the party crisis. Those within the party who were eyeing the top post struck at the opportune moment and joined forces with them," said Tee Keat.

Enter the 'third force'

Tee Keat argued that the ensuing party crisis was planned by a so-called 'third force' , causing cracks within the party and manipulating the results of the Oct 10 EGM against both himself and Chua.

Tee Keat however disclaimed complete responsibility for the disciplinary action against Chua because the disciplinary committee probe on the sex scandal DVD was initiated during Ka Ting's tenure as president.

NONE Moreover, he said the presidential council and central committee which endorsed the disciplinary committee's decision to take action against Chua was mostly made up of Ka Ting's supporters.

This led to Chua's sacking which set in motion the convening of the EGM , where a vote of no-confidence was narrowly passed against Tee Keat while another narrow vote saw delegates rejecting a resolution to reinstate Chua as the deputy president.

"But under the influence of the 'third force', Ong Tee Keat and Chua Soi Lek became the biggest losers," he said.

Because of this, the incumbent party boss insisted that the current crisis cannot be totally blamed on him.

"Any normal personal would not want this to happen. What more if you are the party leader," he said.

'Ka Ting changed his tune'

Meanwhile, Tee Keat also revealed that Ka Ting had previously promised him to stay out of MCA's affairs. The incident occured two days before Chinese New Year, when Ka Ting visited Tee Keat, who was warded at a hospital after a surgery.

"He said: 'When I'm out, I'm out'," revealed Tee Keat.

B mca re-election nomination 220310 ong ka ting and ong tee keat ut soon after offering himself as a candidate, Ka Ting had a chance meeting with Tee Keat, where the former said: "That was then. This is now."

Though generally avoiding any direct criticism of the former MCA president, Tee Keat said the former's style of resolving thorny issues behind closed doors had not benefited the party.

Among this was the PKFZ scandal, which Tee Keat said the opposition exploited to the hilt.

"I sought advice from the party headquarters on how to respond to the issue during the March general elections. The reply I got was to ignore the issue," said Tee Keat, who was the sole MCA candidate to survive the March 2008 political tsunami at the parliamentary level in Selangor.

He also refused to comment when asked if either Ka Ting or Chua would continue pressing for a probe on PKFZ should they win.

Voting for 31 top posts in MCA by 2,400 party delegates will take place tomorrow and the first results are expected at 7pm.

 

Interview with Ong Ka Ting

'Let's not run on the spot'

Ka Ting: Don't play the blame game

Interview with Chua Soi Lek

Chua: I'm not afraid of Ka Ting

'I can unite the MCA'