MCA Wanita chief Dr Ng Yen Yen today denied she is a permanent resident of Australia following accusations from a rival party leader which questioned her loyalty to the country.

Ng, who is also deputy minister for culture, arts and tourism, however admitted to holding the status between 1990 and 1995.

In a press statement issued tonight, Ng said she had obtained the status to facilitate her frequent travelling to Australia to look after her three sons who were in their early formative years and studying there.

"My husband and I realised the need to be with them as frequently as possible to ensure the parental bonding within the family, as well as to ensure that they develop a strong value system and strength of character.

"The PR status enabled me to achieve this (need to be there for them)."

She said she revoked her permanent residency in 1995, in her second year of senatorship, as she need not travel to Australia that frequently anymore.

The MCA leader said the question of her "dual citizenship" does not hold anymore. "I am a Malaysian born and educated in Malaysia."

Question raised before

She claimed the question had been raised many years ago and had been addressed then.

"I cannot help but marvel at the timing of this 10-year-old issue being raised again," she said in her statement.

Ng, who is linked to Team A in the bitterly divided Chinese-based party, had initially refused to reveal when she gave up her permanent residency when contacted earlier this afternoon for comment o­n a set of documents obtained by malaysiakini which showed that she was an Australia PR between 1992 and 1995.

She had merely admitted to holding the status in 1995, but denied that she still has it.

When asked to comment o­n the attack by o­ng over her loyalty and integrity as a senior Malaysian politician, Ng had declined.

She had promised a response at a press conference "to be held soon".

Asked if she was ready to show any proof to substantiate her claims, she had said: "I will give you all the facts."

Businesswoman

Documents obtained by malaysiakini indicated that Ng was an Australian resident director of a New South Wales-based company, Indo Pacific Securities Limited, beginning April 1992.

In the documents, Ng described herself as a businesswoman with her Australian address in Tusmore, a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia.

The other directors of the stockbroking firm were two Malaysian residents, infamous tycoon Soh Chee Wen (photo) and Mohamed Ngah Said, and two Australian residents, Phillip Winter and Perter McCulloch.

The Australian Corporations Law requires all Australian public companies to have at least three directors, with at least two being Australian residents.

Ng, however, tendered her resignation as director of the company in May 1995.

Ng - who was elected member of Parliament for Raub, Pahang in 1999 - won the party's Wanita chief post earlier that year after she defeated Dr Tan Yee Kew, who is aligned to Team B.

The Wanita chief graduated with Bachelor of Medicine (Surgery) in Universiti Malaya and is married with three children.

She had reportedly said she would spend about o­ne month in Australia every year as her children are studying over there.

Undivided loyalty

Ng's denial came in the wake of accusations by party Youth chief O­ng Tee Keat, who had implied that some leaders within the party were not loyal to the country.

"I have never applied for a foreign country's citizenship as my loyalty to the country is totally undivided," o­ng said.

Ong (photo) is aligned to the party's Team B, helmed by deputy president Lim Ah Lek, which is currently in open conflict with Ng's Team A, led by party leader Dr Ling Liong Sik.

Earlier, the Wanita chief issued a strongly worded statement urging o­ng to resign from his party posts over his allegations which were described by Ng as "derogating MCA's image and reputation".

Last week, O­ng had alleged that MCA was 'infiltrated by triads' and that certain party leaders engaged triads to intimidate their rivals.

The feud between two MCA factions spilled into the open two years ago following the party's takeover of two Chinese newspapers.