Responding to the opposing factions call for an independent committee to verify the disputed party membership list, MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik today said such a move was unnecessary as various measures had been taken to clean up the list.

This [independent committee] is not necessary in view of what the elections steering committee has done, he said.

The party president was speaking to reporters after chairing a two-hour central committee meeting at the MCA headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the party had displayed the list for 21 days this year, instead of the conventional 14 previously, so that all branches could voice their complaints about dubious members.

Ling added that1,526 party delegates have thus far signed a petition against the calling of an extraordinary general meeting.

While Team B leaders earlier today submitted a requisition on behalf of 810 delegates  slightly over one-third of some 2,400 delegates  for the EGM.

The purpose of the EGM would be to establish a nine-member panel headed by former deputy president Lee Kim Sai to remove all phantom members of the list and to set a new schedule for this years party polls, as well as supervise party elections at all levels.

However, Ling said the final decision on the EGM would be made by party secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Peh  who is also the elections steering committee chairperson  within the next five days as provided under the party constitution.

Meanwhile, the party president also stressed that he was not involved in the counter-EGM signature campaign.

There was no proposer, no seconder... It was spontaneous voice of the ground, he said.

Team B slammed

Ling also took a swipe at Team B for denying today an allegation which they had made in the press several weeks ago that the new membership list contained some 20,000 non-Chinese members.

We were disturbed by their allegation that on random sampling, there were 20,000 non-Chinese members on our list and that if they had access to the list, they could find another 60,000 such members, he said.

He added the party was fortunate that the National Registration Department ran a check on the list and instructed for only 905 members to be deleted, with no non-Chinese members found.

Thank God, the NRD has returned to our party the sense of dignity, integrity, and honesty, he said.

Late last month, party secretary-general Ting had reportedly said that the list was clean and that the party elections will commence as scheduled.

This was subsequently met with a challenge by Team B leader and party deputy chief Lim Ah Lek that he would resign if the allegations about phantom members were proven wrong in an independent verification exercise.

He also alleged many membership applications were made unwittingly by, among others, deceased people, non-Chinese and under aged students.

Yesterday, Lim showed the press 13 ringed files which he said were the evidence of phantom members that Team B had gathered. He also warned that the proof would be made public when they ran out of patience.

Team B leaders left the MCA headquarters immediately after the CC meeting.

Asked to comment on the proposed EGM, Lim told reporters to ask the men inside, referring to Team A central committee members who were still in the boardroom.

On Sunday, MCA concluded its branch elections and will proceed with division elections at the end of this month.

This will be followed by state level elections next month and the June 29 annual general assembly where central leaders are voted in for a three-year term.