Newly elected MCA president O­ng Ka Ting should allow his deputy Chan Kong Choy to serve as acting president until Youth chief o­ng Tee Keat's allegation of "black gold politics" in MCA and his (Ong's) own police report against poison-pen letter linking him with triads have been thoroughly investigated, an opposition leader said today.

It would be in the public interest for Ka Ting to do that, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang stressed in a statement.

He also asked whether Tee Keat is standing by his allegation of "black gold" politics in MCA with the MCA leadership changes yesterday or has his allegation ceased to exist.

Compromise

Ka Ting was allegedly linked to secret society leaders in a widely circulated poison-pen letter that was the subject of much controversy among political circles and the police in recent weeks.

He was elected the new MCA president with Kong Choy as his deputy yesterday in what is believed to be a "compromise" between the two feuding Team A and Team B factions.

Commenting o­n the MCA leadership changes yesterday, Kit Siang said that the biggest losers were [party vice-president] Chua Jui Meng and Youth leader Tee Keat.

"Their personal setbacks however are secondary to the larger public interest issues which have been thrown up in the MCA power struggle and which should not be swept under the carpet and forgotten in particular Tee Keat's serious allegation of "black gold politics" in the party and Ka Ting's police report about a poison-pen letter linking him to triad politics.

"When Tee Keat made the serious allegation of "black gold" politics, later submitting two names to the then Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, very few believed that he was targetting Dr Ling Liong Sik," Kit Siang added.

Set and sealed

The DAP leader also claimed that the MCA leadership changes were orchestrated by "Big Brother", as evident from the comment from Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who, 24hours before the MCA central committee meeting yesterday, expressed his confidence that the MCA situation would certainly improve with the resignation of Dr Ling Liong Sik and Lim Ah Lek.

This is a clear proof that their resignations were already set and sealed before any meeting by the MCA central committee, Kit Siang added.