Whether MCA would have a second extraordinary general meeting (EGM) within a span of two months or sink into a protracted legal battle would be known tomorrow.

mca call for egm 291009 wong nai chee Wong Nai Chee, one of the three central committee (CC) members who made the requisition for the EGM, told Malaysiakini today that they would decide in the next 24 hours whether to send out the EGM notices themselves or take the matter to court.

Since the secretary-general had rejected their requisition, Wong said that legal action to force the EGM appeared inevitable.

The EGM was petitioned by 16 CC members aligned to Liow Tiong Lai, who was forced to vacate his deputy presidency post after only 19 days when the Registrar of Societies (ROS) reinstated Dr Chua Soi Lek as the rightful No 2.

The EGM would allow the 2,380 party delegates to vote on whether or not they wanted a fresh polls to re-elect the powerful CC.

NONE Despite crossing swords with president Ong Tee Keat earlier, Chua had since made peace and agreed to the 'greater unity plan' which marginalised Liow's supporters.

Liow, who is also health minister, is backed by the party's Youth chief Wee Ka Siong and Wanita head Chew Mei Fun.

According to Wong, only about half of the 16 CC members who signed the EGM petition managed to discuss the matter during a meeting last night.

Therefore, he said a final decision could only be made after soliciting the views of the remaining members.

'We are frustrated'

"We are frustrated that the other faction keeps finding excuses to avoid facing the central delegates (in an EGM)," he added.

In the event that the EGM is held, Wong is confident that the delegates would vote in favour of fresh polls.

However, he noted that the EGM would be pointless if the powers-that-be in the party refused to recognise the outcome.

NONE In view of this, Wong, who is a lawyer, said the court would be the best avenue.

On the same note, he said many factors had to be considered before seeking legal remedy such as duration and cost.

"Other factors included whether the case would affect the next party polls and MCA's performance in the general election, public perception, and most importantly, whether members would agree to bringing the party to court.

"That's why we are still struggling in finding the best solution. But there would be a decision tomorrow," he added.

According to party secretary-general Wong Foon Meng, today is the last day to send out EGM notices to the delegates after the requisition was made last Thursday.

NONE However, Wong (Nai Chee) clarified that the five-day limitation only applied to the secretary-general.

He said if the secretary-general failed to send out notices, those who made the requisition could do so themselves but the notices must reach the delegates 21 days before the EGM.

Since the EGM must be held within 30 days from the date the requisition was made, the deadline for the notices to reach the delegates is this Saturday.

"Which means we need to send out the notices tomorrow so the delegates could receive them by Saturday," he added.

Wong also insisted that the two resolutions submitted last Thursday were in accordance with the party constitution contrary to what the secretary-general and legal bureau chief had said.