Former MCA president Ong Tee Keat will officially hand over his presidential duties to his successor Dr Chua Soi Lek in a handover ceremony slated for tomorrow.

The ceremony, scheduled for 12.30 pm on the ninth floor of the party headquarters in Jalan Ampang Kuala Lumpur, will be the first of its kind in MCA's 61-year-history.

mca egm 280310 chua soi lek Previously, handover ceremonies involving party leaders were usually held at the party headquarters’s San Choon Hall during a annual general assembly which saw party polls being conducted with voting by all central delegates.

Chua ( left) was elected as the new MCA president in an extraordinary general meeting on March 28, called after two-thirds of the party’s central committee (CC) members resigned in an attempt to solve an eight-month leadership crisis that wracked the party.

Chua defeated both Tee Keat and former president Ong Ka Ting in a three-cornered fight , garnering a slim majority of 68 votes to beat Ka Ting.

Aside from party affairs, Chua will be taking charge of RM2 billion worth of party assets including the nation's best selling English daily - The Star - which is owned by MCA's investment arm, Huaren Holdings.

Kong wants Chua as minister

Chua will hold his first CC meeting this Wednesday. He is expected to announce appointments to several key posts in the party.

Housing and Local Government minister Kong Cho Ha, Chua's ‘partner’ for the MCA deputy presidency, is tipped to be appointed as party secretary-general, this despite his defeat in the party polls.

mca polls 280310 kong cho ha Met at the Parliament House lobby today, Kong ( right ) expressed willingness to hold any party post but stressed that the decision lied with the president.

Kong also expressed support for Chua to be made a full cabinet minister again.

"The MCA president has always played a role in the cabinet. It wouldn't be strange if [Chua] is accepted into the cabinet as most of the past MCA presidents were chosen to enter the cabinet," he said.

Chua was health minister before he resigned all government and party posts in early 2008 after his sex DVD scandal exploded.

Since then, he has been stressing that he has had no intention of re-entering the cabinet.

Chua's boys for key posts

Other key party posts such as national treasurer and national organising secretary are also being speculated to be given to Chua's men.

The Chinese vernacular press reports that former deputy home affairs minister Tan Chai Ho will be made the national treasurer while Chua's former political secretary, Tee Siew Kiong, will bag the national organising secretary’s position.