MCA sets up special committee to mediate grassroots objections

comments     YS Tong     Published     Updated

Though the upper echelon of MCA has agreed to close ranks with regard to the no-contest ruling, they appear to fear grassroots resistance as evident in the top leaders preparedness to mediate their way out through a special committee set up today.

The nine-member special committee is chaired by party president Dr Ling Liong Sik who announced this after a two-hour central committee meeting at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

For all divisions, we are encouraging them to discuss among themselves to settle their problems so that there will be no contest when they go for nomination [on May 3].

If there are difficulties, we will then mediate the problems that arise from the ground... The work starts immediately, said Ling

Sitting beside him were other members in the newly-formed committee, including deputy president Lim Ah Lek; vice-presidents Dr Fong Chan Onn, Chua Jui Meng, Ong Ka Ting, and Chan Kong Choy; secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Peh.

The other committee members, national organising secretary Ong Ka Chuan and chief administrative director Wong See Wah, were not present.

Ling added that the committee will function in all levels — divisional and state — until the June 29 annual general assembly is concluded.

However, he stressed that the special committee is only for negotiation purpose and that the implementation of the no-contest ruling lies with the existing elections steering committee helmed by secretary-general Ting.

Peace agenda

Until last week, both the feuding factions within MCA had been at loggerheads on numerous occasions for almost a year.

The camps were openly split following the partys takeover of two Chinese dailies last May, with Team A led by Ling supporting the deal and Team B led by Lim opposing it.

Lim had recently declared that his relationship with Ling was damaged irreparably and that the party chief would be challenged for his top post.

All this ended when Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad stepped in and presented a peace agenda to both sides as part of the effort to end the bickering.

It is widely believed that the premier does not want any disruption in the flow of the Chinese vote to the Umno-led ruling coalition at the forthcoming general election which could be held as early as the beginning of next year.

The peace agenda stipulates that the status quo will apply to party posts at all levels until further notice by Mahathir and that Team B will not pursue their allegation about phantom members within the party, a powerful weapon which had gained much support for the opposing faction in recent months.

Walkout

But the plan to persuade the middle-ranking leaders not to contest at the divisional elections two weeks from now sounds easier said than done.

It was for this reason that two separate sessions were held to brief supporters of Team A and Team B on the implementation of the peace plan. And yesterday, Team Bs briefing turned into a heated event when many of their supporters questioned the rationale of keeping to the status quo before walking out halfway through.

The grassroots, particularly those aspiring to go for higher party posts, have long rallied support for a shakeup behind the banners of either Team A or Team B.

Next Fridays nomination for divisional elections will reveal the grassroots response to their leaders plea for unity and stability — as in whether there is only one nomination from each incumbent office bearer or more from challengers.

The divisional elections will subsequently be held on May 15.

Creative assignments

Meanwhile, Ling today cleared the air over the status of Youth leaders when he announced that the age limit of 45 for the wing remains.

For the past week, many Youth leaders have voiced out their concern over the matter as many of them have exceeded the age limit but could not leave due to the status quo ruling.

We will fill up the vacancies through discussions. Places will be found to accommodate them [the outgoing Youth leaders] so that they can continue to serve the party, he said.

However, when asked how the party could do so since there will be no vacancies, again due to the status quo ruling, he replied, [Through] our own creativity, we will find those places.



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