MCA Youth chief o­ng Tee Kiat will not entertain the party president's challenge to name members allegedly involved in triads, stating that the matter is not under the jurisdiction of the party.

Ong said although he had the information, the matter is clearly a criminal case and it is therefore not his responsibility to inform Dr Ling Liong Sik about it.

"Since when have criminal cases been handled by the party?" asked o­ng.

Political future at risk

Ong, who is deputy minister for youth and sports, said he had already written to Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai ( photo ) to talk about the matter as well as the fracas at the wing's general assembly in 2001.

"I am still waiting for the meeting with the police," he said at a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

Ong, who is also Ampang Jaya MP, refuted accusations that he was a coward for having kept this information to himself in the past.

He claimed that he had been collecting information from the party grassroots and the public "not for my personal consumption, but for the benefit of the party".

On pressure for him to resign, o­ng said the triads and other internal disputes would not disappear even if he acceded to such requests.

"I have been doing some soul searching and asked myself, why should I resign?" he said.

However, he admitted that his decision to expose the party's internal problems would be risky for his political future.

"If I love my political future, perhaps I should just keep quiet (about the problems in MCA)," o­ng said, adding that he was spilling the beans in the hope that a solution can be attained.

"Although what I am saying today may be bitter to swallow, I am doing this because of my love for the party and the (Chinese) community. If I no longer love my party, I would prefer to keep quiet," he explained.

'Serious threats'

The negative media reports about him, especially in the Chinese dailies over the past few days, have been another form of pressure o­n o­ng.

Replying to some of the allegations hurled at him, o­ng claimed he had never exposed MCA's classified documents to any party, including foreign businessmen, for financial gains.

"Also, I have never applied for a foreign country's citizenship as my loyalty to the country is totally undivided," he said.

He dismissed accusations that his family has wealth amounting to millions of ringgit.

"I think all the allegations in the Chinese newspapers are meant to embarrass me, but unfortunately they did not work and have embarrassed the party instead."

He also revealed serious threats against him for being outspoken about party matters.

"If I were to lodge a police report each time I am threatened, I bet the police would be (inundated) just handling my reports," he said.

Root of money politics

Yesterday, o­ng told malaysiakini that the fracas that broke out during the general assembly two years ago has exposed some serious problems within the party.

The staunch critic of Ling's leadership made a shocking disclosure o­n Sunday that MCA was infiltrated by triads and that this led to "the root of money politics in the party".

Two years ago, MCA split openly into two factions - Team A led by Ling and Team B led by deputy president Lim Ah Lek - following the party's acquisition of two Chinese newspapers. o­ng is aligned to Team B.