While he defended Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's intention to have a word with MCA's feuding leaders, party Youth chief Wee Ka Siong however appeared cautious about the top man sticking his nose into the boiling pot.

He said Najib was expressing concern as the Barisan Nasional chairperson and this should not be seen as Umno's interference.

NONE However, he pointed out that MCA is capable of handling the crisis internally.

"I thank Najib for his concern but the party has its own channels to resolve the problem. We have our internal channels but (the question is) would the leaders be selective in deciding this matter?"

"If we say we welcome (Najib's move) then people would say all sorts of things like we invite others to come in (to interfere) so I have always been careful with that word," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby.

Wee was responding to Najib's statement this morning that he would meet the MCA leaders before the Nov 28 extraordinary general meeting (EGM), which is being called by Liow Tiong Lai's faction.

The prime minister said the crisis had deteriorated to the point that the Chinese community had lost confidence in the second largest component party in BN.

Furthermore, he added that the quagmire would also affect the ruling coalition.

Wee said Najib is aware that the 'Greater Unity Plan' (GUP) mooted by party president Ong Tee Keat is not living up to its purpose.

"What the PM can see, what has been explained to him about the GUP appears not to be accepted by the community and the removal yesterday shows this is not unity but a removal to allow one bloc to have full control of the party.

"This is not a healthy development and Najib is worried, as he is the BN chairperson," he added.

Yesterday, Wee and Wanita chief Chew Mei Fun were among nine members of the presidential council removed by Ong. The majority of them are aligned to Liow.

Ka Chuan: I feel very sad

Meanwhile, former MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan expressed sadness over the situation in MCA.

"The party's dignity and integrity is important. If we need outsiders, the Registrar of Societies and the prime minister, to come in to mediate, it clearly tells the whole world we are not able to solve our problem. The situation now, I think is beyond expectation, beyond control," he lamented.

ong ka chuan parliament pc 101208 05 According to the Tanjung Malim MP, the "catastrophic" decision to remove the nine presidential council members had plunged the party deeper into crisis.

Asked about the erosion of public confidence and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's remark that he would not support MCA if he were Chinese, Ong said: "Definitely the perception wont' be good."

"We are a political party, we are supposed to serve the people now you need people to serve you. So what is the perception you are going to project?

"I feel very sad to hear Muhyiddin's (comment) but this is the perception that is developing on the ground. As party leaders we have to address this, we cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend not to hear anything," he added.

However, the former MCA leader said it is not too late for members to rectify the problem.