The uneasy relationship between MCA president Ong Tee Keat and his deputy Dr Chua Soi Lek is in the public spotlight again - this time the speculation focuses on Chua’s purported plan to revive the so-called Team A in the party.

The rumoured revival of Team A led by former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik during the MCA crisis of 2000 by Chua is seen as the first step in the move to oust Tee Keat as president.

ong ka chuan donald lim chua soi lek lee hack teik mca The purported plan for the revived Team A is to wait for Tee Keat to make a serious mistake, after which they will call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the party to remove the president.

In the previous Team A-Team B tussle, Chua Soi Lek, Donald Lim and Ong Ka Chuan were members of Team A. That ‘brotherhood’ ended last October when the trio contested against each other for the deputy president’s post - which was won by Chua.

However, reviving Team A is easier said than done. It is not that plain sailing for the ambitious trio to come back together and work as a team. According to a source from the pro-Chua camp, Lim and Ka Chuan have not agreed to stand together with Chua against Tee Keat.

In party polls last October, Lim suffered a humiliating defeat, garnering only 10 percent of the total votes cast. This put a question mark on his grassroots support. The only way for him to regain power is to fight side-by-side with Chua.

"Lim does not have much of a choice, because it is pretty obvious that Tee Keat was just using him," said the source from the pro-Chua group.

ong ka ting interview 140408 02 On the other hand, Ka Chuan has more choices compared to Lim as he is holding a ministerial post, giving him less reason to support Chua at this stage. He is also hoping to retain his cabinet post.

Another source from MCA told Malaysiakini that the possibility of Chua and Ka Chuan working together will depend on whether Chua has forgiven former president Ong Ka Ting, Ka Chuan’s brother, whom his (Chua's) supporters had blamed for a video sex scandal.

"If Chua wants to work with the Ong brothers, he will have to let go of this issue, which is not easy at all."

Focus is on EGM date

Many Chinese dailies have reported that the "Anti-Ong Tee Keat" team has started collecting signatures from party delegates in preparation for the vote of no-confidence against the president. The focus is on when is the best time to call for the EGM.

ong tee keat launch seminar road traffic accident study day 041208 03 According to the source, the biggest challenge for the ‘Anti-Ong’ team is that they have no reason to call for an EGM as Tee Keat has not made any significant mistakes. That the president did not show support to his deputy on the video sex scandal is not a valid reason, he said.

"The only thing they can do now is to wait for Tee Keat to make a ‘serious’ mistake and use it as a reason to call for EGM," said the source.

The source further analyses that after Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak takes over as prime minister in April, an impending cabinet reshuffle will be the time and occasion to watch. If Tee Keat does not appoint Chua or other elected leader as ministers, the ‘Anti-Ong’ team can call for EGM on the basis that Tee Keat did not respect the delegates’ decision.

The pro-Chua camp also confirmed that the ‘Anti-Ong’ action will be determined on the cabinet reshuffle. He also mentioned that they have already started collecting signatures .

"We will be ready before the cabinet reshuffle."

However, there is also another school of thought. MCA insiders are saying that the threat by the pro-Chua group to call for an EGM is meant to induce Tee Keat to appoint Chua as a minister.

Tee Keat is also aware that it is not easy for his opponents to request for an EGM as all his men are holding key positions in the party and shooting down the idea of the EGM is not that difficult.