MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik should personally probe the arrest of the party's Kampar division secretary for his alleged involvement in a drug trafficking syndicate, said Youth chief o­ng Tee Keat.

He said the president ( left ) must assume the responsibility since he had spearheaded the party's anti-Ecstasy campaign a few years ago after it was reported that the drug abuse was prevalent among Chinese youths.

He stressed that the party should view the matter seriously as this was "part" of his claim that the second largest partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition was infiltrated by triads .

"I can o­nly say this latest case is merely a small part of my claim," o­ng said when contacted yesterday.

Australian connection

The Youth chief added that the party must investigate regardless of the arrested individual's affiliation in the MCA factional feud.

MCA is bitterly split into two factions - Team A led by party president Dr Ling Liong Sik and Team B helmed by his deputy Lim Ah Lek. O­ng is aligned to Team B.

However, he refused to comment whether the arrested MCA leader - Wong Lee Wah who is said to be aligned to Team A - was linked to the two party leaders who O­ng claimed were connected to criminal organisations.

In mid-March, O­ng ( left ) sparked a ruckus within the party when he claimed that a number of party leaders had links to the triads.

Later, he submitted the names of two party leaders to Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"The documents that I handed over to the deputy prime minister were very detail, but I cannot disclose whether the arrested leader (Wong) was linked to the two names (given to Abdullah)," said O­ng, who is also deputy youth and sport minister.

Yesterday, malaysiakini quoted Kampar division chief Dr Chong Fah as confirming that Wong was arrested over his alleged involvement in an Ecstasy drug trafficking syndicate in Australia.

Death penalty

Wong, 47, a Kinta Selatan district councillor, was taken into custody by officers from the federal police headquarters' anti-narcotics division and is being held under the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measure) Act, which allows for a 60-day detention.

Another six people connected with the case were also arrested over the past three weeks.

The syndicate is believed to have connections with a Europe-Australia Ecstasy trafficking pipeline in Sydney which Australian police had been investigating.

This resulted in last month's seizure of Ecstasy worth RM200 million (A$92 million), which were found hidden in freezers imported from Malaysia.

The seized psychotropic drug, in powder form, weighed 170kg and when processed could produce about o­ne million Ecstacy tablets.

Among those arrested in Australia were the syndicate's mastermind - a Chinese national with Dutch travel documents.

Those arrested in Malaysia included the mastermind's wife who was picked up in Ipoh - the Perak state capital located near Kampar.

If found guilty, the MCA leader could face the death penalty.

Strong message

Meanwhile, O­ng also criticised party secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Peh ( right ) who told malaysiakini yesterday the party would not initiate an internal inquiry unless it receives a formal complaint.

"Apart from saying those allegations were something regrettable, what else has he done?" asked o­ng.

The Youth chief vowed that he would continue to pursue his 'infiltrated-by-triads' allegation.

"I want to convey a strong message here: I won't leave the matter rest," he said.

Last week, party vice-president o­ng Ka Ting ( left ) lodged a police report after a poison-pen letter alleging he had links with triads was widely-circulated.

The letter cited two names, and claimed they were close friends to Ka Ting - a prominent figure in Team A and the probable successor to Ling.

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