With the MCA party elections around the corner, it would be timely to recapitulate the bickering and controversies within the Chinese-based party Team A and Team B arrive separately for functions and even walk past each other as though the other faction was non-existent.

But the real heat for a battle royale could only be felt behind the scenes — both camps are now organising dinner functions and the like in their stronghold areas to ensure the mass support will not die out. Each is competing for the opening of, or at least the invitation to, various events organised by Chinese organisations.

Non-Chinese Malaysians were probably alerted to the internal struggle for power within MCA when news surfaced of the partys takeover of Nanyang Press Holdings in May. But the undercurrent for the present leadership crisis runs deeper than one issue. It goes way back.

The seeds of Team B

In 1998, at the MCA annual general assembly, party president and Transport Minister Dr Ling Liong Sik called on the veterans to step down from their ministerial and party posts so as to pave way for the new blood.

An implicit understanding was reached between Ling and his deputy Lim Ah Lek on this and the following year, Lim made it known that he would not contest in the 1999 general elections. Lim, then the Human Resources Minister, wanted to give a federal ministerial post to his protege Chan Kong Choy.

There were four ministerial posts held by MCA during that time — aside from Lim and Ling, party secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Peh and vice-president Chua Jui Meng were housing and local government minister and health minister respectively.

There was an arrangement within the party for Ting to step down as minister but Chua remained. To the surprise of Lim, when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced the new Cabinet line-up, the vacancies of the other two posts were, however, given to party vice-presidents Ong Kah Ting and Dr Fong Chan Onn, leaving Chan out.

Chan was instead appointed the second deputy finance minister. This had breached Lings agreement with Lim and marked the start of the breakdown in their relationship.

Ling offers to resign

Not long after that, in May 2000, Ling suddenly said he wanted to give Chan his ministerial post. This development put Lim in a bad light and many quarters criticised him for pressuring Ling into resigning. Two weeks later, Ling withdrew his resignation offer after due reflection.

Lim laid low since then. However, this did not last long when the unsuccessful succession talks between Lim and Ling suddenly threw the former in a bad light again early last year. Lim found himself cornered by party members and was accused of pressuring Ling to set a date to retire from both the party and Cabinet.

Ling did not clarify much on the matter and put aside the succession talks, citing party stability as his main concern. No one knew exactly what the meetings were about or why they failed until Lim divulged the information to the media.

According to Lim, it was Ling who suggested the meetings to draft a smooth succession plan. Ling, who has been MCA president since 1986, reportedly told Lim that he had no intention to serve beyond 2002. The proposed plan also had it that Chan would be appointed to replace Lim as the partys number two.

The plans — supposedly endorsed by the party central committee (CC) — were eventually put off by Ling, who cited party instability amid overwhelming criticisms against Lim for forcing him to step down. Lim grew even more suspicious and felt betrayed when Ling did not dispel the rumours.

In response to Lims explanation, Ling later said such privileged information should not have been revealed to the public, but did not refute those claims.

Nanyang takeover

There was no refuting the rift between the two top leaders when MCAs investment arm Huaren Holdings purchased Nanyang Press — publisher of dailies Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press — in almost unbelievable haste. The deal was approved by the presidential council. The council also gave the green light to use the partys shares in The Star daily as bank collateral to raise a RM230 million loan for the deal.

The ethnic Chinese through various guilds and associations strongly protested against the deal for fear that the two Mandarin dailies which are fairly more independent than newspapers of other languages may be manipulated in favour of MCA and the government.

Even the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM), which has been backing MCA during the past general elections, joined the public outcry against the takeover of the dailies.

When Lim and several others voiced out their opposition to the deal, Ling called for a CC meeting where 32 voted for the deal and eight opposed it. The Nanyang takeover was therefore endorsed and Ling thought he had burnt the bridges behind the opposing faction.

Aside from Lim, Chua, and Chan, the gang of eight included Youth chairperson Ong Tee Keat, Wanita deputy chief Dr Tan Yee Kew, and veteran CC member Fu Ah Kiow.

But the gang of eight, which grew to become Team B, went on road-shows nationwide to garner support and soon Team A was doing the same. The rift within the leadership divided the members into two camps, at least visibly, overnight.

Fistfights at Youth AGM

An extraordinary general meeting was subsequently called on June 24 to thrash things out. Only 53 percent of the delegates favoured the deal while the rest opposed it. The wafer-thin majority boosted the confidence of Team B which had gained much political mileage from the Nanyang takeover, intended or otherwise.

A day before the partys extraordinary general meeting, the Youth wing also had one of its own. At the meeting, a no-confidence vote was passed against the secretary-general Yew Tiong Look, a known Ling loyalist.

Although the dust has settled on the Nanyang takeover, it would seem to remain distant from a happy-ever-after ending.

In August, at the Youth annual meet, delegates exchanged punches and threw chairs in all direction when Yews allies failed to change the Speaker who was said to be biased. The Youth delegates adopted an emergency motion which sacked Yew and Youth deputy chairperson Loh Seng Kok, who is Lings political secretary.

However, Ling then announced that Yew and Loh would remain in their posts until the investigation is done with. But Youth chief Ong said the move was a disrespect to the delegates. Team B also openly opposed the suggestion that an ad-hoc committee look into the matter as this would totally sidestep the partys disciplinary committee headed by Lim.

Ong even demanded an apology from Ling for his interference in Youth affairs. Ten MCA Youth state chiefs slammed Ong in response and called him kurang ajar (ill-mannered). The 10 then set up another committee headed by Yew to investigate the Youth AGM fracas.

Following this, an investigation committee comprising veteran party members was set up and took Ong to task for the fracas in late December. The Youth leadership has been suspended since then and is led by a pro-Ling three-member panel.

Curbing Chuas popularity

Last October, Ling stripped Chua of his MCA Kedah chief post as a move to curb the latters growing popularity among the party members. A silent and less controversial figure before the Nanyang takeover, Chua is now believed to show interest in the MCA presidency.

This sparked off a fresh round of bickering — certain branches and divisions pledged support for Chua and the following day, more branches and divisions countered those support by saying that Chua has exaggerated a trivial issue.

Many are keeping an eye on Chua to see if he will challenge Ling at the party elections. But Chua remains mum over this.

And one may wonder: what is so attractive about the MCA presidency?

Tomorrow : The answer.