Soi Lek wants unity plan be given a chance

The MCA central committee should give the unity plan unveiled by party president Ong Tee Keat between six and 12 months before a decision to have a fresh party election is made, said Dr Chua Soi Lek today.

“But if they (CC members) are in agreement to dissolve the CC to pave the way for an election, by all means,” he told a press conference in Johor Bahru.

Chua said the unity plan was a simple thing where all the three main factions in the party had the opportunity to hold top positions.

The groups he mentioned were Ong’s group, his and that of newly-elected deputy president Liow Tiong Lai.

He said real unity could be achieved both at the federal and the state level if no elected party officials were marginalised.

"I support the unity plan with the hope to stabilise and unite the party so that we can move forward," he said.

Chua stressed that the recently requested extraordinary general meeting (EGM) by certain central committee (CC) members to determine whether fresh party polls should be held was a waste of time.

He said the CC leaders should instead get the majority support in the CC meeting for the dissolution of the CC and then have a fresh election. Or it could just hold a new EGM, said Chua.

Liow’s appointment as No 2 questioned

On why he had written to the Registrar of Society (ROS), Chua said he did it to ask ROS to reinstate him as the deputy president because it was not a wrong thing to do.

He said it was not true for the ROS to say it had no powers to decide on the matter.

Thus, he said he hoped the minister concerned would use his wisdom under Article 8 of the Societies Act to exercise his power and determine who the MCA deputy president should be.

On the election of Liow as the deputy president, Chua said it was wrong under the party constitution's Article 23 and 40 as his (Chua's) position as deputy president was still subject to interpretation.

At MCA's EGM held on Oct 10, a resolution to have him re-instated as deputy president was rejected.

Delegates attending it also passed a motion of no-confidence in Ong as president of MCA and accepted a resolution to have Chua, whose membership in the party was suspended, back as a member.

- Bernama