Elections for the MCA central committee are likely shaping up to be a three-corner fight with Ong Tee Keat attempting to fend for his presidency against his former deputy Dr Chua Soi Lek and former president Ong Ka Ting ( below, right ).

Some observers have already billed the three-way battle royale as a re-enactment of the Chinese epic Romance of Three Kingdoms with Chua looking as the most possible victor.

ong ka ting During the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) last October 10, voting results showed that Chua had a solid 40 percent support from the delegates.

It is believed that Chua’s support is trailed by the Liow Tiong Lai faction which combined with Ka Ting's followers should command about 30 percent of the delegates support. Tee Keat is estimated to have about 25 percent of the MCA delegates’ support.

Given this scenario, Chua is believed to have the advantage as stray votes originally meant for Tee Keat would be picked up by Ka Ting.

Ka Ting, however, cannot be discounted from the presidential race as his backers are serious in putting him back on the throne saying they have grown weary from the months of infighting and are looking for someone who can rein in the party's many warlords.

A ‘safe’ president

Some delegates believe that under Ka Ting's former reign, he was a ‘safe’ president who allowed different camps to survive and kept intra-party warfare at a minimum.

He has also strategically stayed out of the public fray between Tee Keat, Chua and later Liow who have all lost public standing after engaging in the many skirmishes among themselves of late.

chua soi lek 050110 Undeniably, Chua ( left ) is still haunted by the sex-DVD scandal from two years ago while Tee Keat reneged on his own promise to resign after a vote of no-confidence was passed against him during the October 10 EGM.

Chua also ignored the EGM's decision not to reinstate him as deputy president and used a 'back door' for reinstatement by seeking help from the Registrar of Society.

On the contrary, though there was no pressure to do so, Ka Ting stepped down voluntarily after leading the MCA into its worst general election outing ever. Comparatively, Ka Ting has less baggage compared to Chua and Tee Keat.

 

Ka Ting's only Achilles heel is the ill-will generated among the grassroots after he replaced many senior members of Parliament with a set of 'parachuted candidates' - a strategy which many blame for the MCA’s startling defeat in the march 8, 2008 polls.

 

Long, acrimonious relationship

 

Interestingly, Chua, Tee Keat and Ka Ting have crossed swords before. Chua edged Ka Ting's elder brother Ka Chuan in a bitter battle for the MCA deputy president's post back in 2008.

mca agm 070310 ong tee keat 03 Chua's supporters have also gone on the offensive against Ka Ting, claiming that the latter was the mastermind behind the sex DVD scandal which led to Chua’s downfall in January 2008.

Ka Ting was cleared of all allegations during an internal party probe later.

But some observers point out that Ka Ting's entry into the presidential race might be an exercise in futility because he and Tee Keat ( above ) share the same support base.

This might make Chua's journey towards the throne much easier. Nevertheless, Chua's chances are far from secure and there is speculation that Ka Ting's apparent interest in contesting is just a red herring to ‘persuade’ Chua into forming an electoral pact against Tee Keat.