Team A of MCA did the right thing by refusing to sign any peace agreement in the absence of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad. I salute the courage and principle of party president Dr Ling Liong Sik.

First, being the popularly elected president of MCA, Ling must be met with full protocol by his equivalent or peer in Umno, and not others who are junior to him, or not elected to any party posts, like (Deputy Prime Minister) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, (business tycoons) Lim Kok Wing and Lee Kim Yew. This is the first rule of diplomatic protocol.

Second, although Mahathirs advice should be respected, it must not take precedence over and above the constitution of MCA and the wishes of its grassroots. Mahathir's advice should be treated as personal, as MCA is not Umno. MCA is a modern organisation that stresses on the rule of law and organisational, not personal, supremacy.

In MCA, unlike Umno, the wishes of the grassroots reign supreme because it is made up of more educated and modern people.