Youth members of the rebel faction in the MCA are crying foul over the transfer of the two staff in the wing's secretariat to other departments o­n a short notice.

Youth secretary-general Liow Tiong Lai - who is with Team B led by party deputy president Lim Ah Lek - said the duo were handed letters o­n Saturday that directed them to start work at other departments beginning next month.

No reason was given in the letter signed by headquarters chief administrative director Wong See Wah, who is aligned to Team A led by party president Dr Ling Liong Sik.

Don't play politics

Liow ( left ) said two other staff had resigned early this month after being repeatedly called in by the administration and asked questions that were irrelevant to work.

He believed that the sudden transfer was a result of the o­ngoing fight between the two factions in the party.

Liow censured the move, adding that such political scoring which could affect the livelihood of paid staff was unacceptable.

"We are very sad and upset that they are bringing politics into the administration. The administration should not discriminate the staff when they are just doing their work.

"If you (administration) want to play politics, you play with us. We are elected officials. Don't go after the staff," said Liow who was flanked by Youth bureau heads at a press conference in Wisma MCA this afternoon.

Liow said he had written to Wong for a retraction of the transfer.

No consultation

He also urged MCA vice-president and Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan o­nn ( left ) to intervene and get the staff reinstated to their present posts.

The secretariat staff were also advised to take their case to the industrial relations department under Fong, he added.

Liow said the transfer was "ridiculous" as the staff were experienced and have performed professionally throughout their five years of running the Youth secretariat.

"It is not easy to train new staff to run the secretariat considering the amount of work that is involved. We have to deal with complaints regarding university admission, coordination between Youth divisions across the country and preparation for the general election soon," he said.

He said any changes in the secretariat should have been done after consultation with Youth chief o­ng Tee Keat ( right ) or himself.

"None of us was consulted. If there was any complaint about the performance of the staff, we should have been informed and asked to give our opinion because the staff are carrying out their duties under our supervision," he said.

No interference

He stressed that Youth leaders who were aligned to Team B had not interfered in the daily administration work of the secretariat.

He said the staff were not stopped from organising and minuting events organised by Team A Youth leaders.

Instead, it was the administration who had tried to influence the impartiality and efficiency of the staff, he claimed.

"For example, they were instructed and warned not to get involved in bureau activities (most of the bureaus are headed by Team B appointees).

"When the staff showed up at the activities at night as requested by us, they are not allowed to claim for overtime and allowances (by the administration)," said Liow.

When asked, he conceded that there was little they could do if the party administration proceeded with the transfer.

"There is no choice for the staff. Nobody can ask them not to go because this concerns their livelihood. The most we can do is to advise them to report to the authorities regarding the unjust treatment they have received," he said.

Normal reshuffle

Responding later, chief administrative director Wong said the transfer was not a victimisation of any administrative staff, but a normal reshuffle.

"Politicians should not get involved in how the party headquarters is run. The transfer is just to expose the staff to how the other departments work," he said when contacted.

He also denied the charge that the party headquarters did not pay overtime to the staff who attended activities organised by the Youth wing outside office hours.