Ah Lek wants suspension on MCA youth lifted
MCA deputy president Lim Ah Lek said today the suspension of the party's youth wing should be lifted so that the movement can perform its duties and fulfill its responsibilities to the party again.
"For the image of the party, we cannot let the three-member panel run MCA Youth indefinitely," he told a press conference after opening the youth wing's annual general assembly at Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur.
The Youth section was suspended by the party in December last year after a fracas occurred at its previous assembly. The section has since been placed under a three-man committee headed by party veteran and former deputy minister Wang Choon Wing.
Lim said he will talk to party president Dr Ling Liong Sik on the matter and will also raise it at the next central committee meeting.
"The Youth leaders were democratically elected, and you (reporters) could see from the reactions of the delegates this morning that they want the youth wing to move forward," he said.
"The lifting of suspension has to be done as soon as possible, preferably before the party's AGM on July 27," he added.
Earlier in his opening speech, Lim said since the incumbent Youth leaders are to hold office for another term under the party's 'no-contest' election ruling, the three-member panel headed by Wang should be dissolved.
Complete peace plan
"The power should be returned to the Youth central committee in order to complete the peace plan proposed by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad," said Lim.
The Youth central committee was suspended last December after its chief Ong Tee Keat was found responsible for the fracas a bomb hoax, fist fights and chair-throwing that marred the movement's AGM on Aug 3.
The fracas was a result of prolonged, open feud between Team A led by party chief Ling and Team B led by Lim following the MCA's acquisition of two Chinese newspapers last May.
Lim had vehemently opposed the deal and claimed that it had hurt the feelings of the Chinese community; while Ling insisted that it was a good buy and a "strategic political investment".
The split within MCA eventually led to Mahathir's intervention a peace plan which stated, among others, status quo for all party posts.
Lim hoped the Youth delegates were matured enough to take care of the image and interests of the party after what they had gone through over the past year.
Rebuild team spirit
Meanwhile, Youth chief Ong who is aligned to Team B told another press conference at the end of the Youth AGM this afternoon that "it is time to rebuild team spirit".
He said that he was not sorely responsible for the Aug 3 fracas when asked if he could assure that such untoward incident will not recur when the Youth central committee is given back its power.
"It is the collective discipline of all party leaders and not just Youth leaders that needs to be addressed so I can't give you (reporters) my personal assurance," he said.
At the meeting earlier, Ngai Chin Soon from Penang, the last delegate to take part in the debate on resolutions, condemned the perpetrators who caused the fracas last year.
"We hope the police will disclose the results of their investigation soon and that the three-member panel will hand over its power to the Youth committee," he said.
The Youth AGM today was attended by 1,090 out of a total of 1,692 delegates. The year's meeting was also a short one it started at 9am and ended at 1pm, with a 20-minute tea break due to no contest and thus no balloting.
The list of Youth central committee members for the 2002-2005 term was read out by meeting speaker Lim Hong Sang and was considered endorsed by the delegates.
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