The Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (SCAH) will officially protest to the Registrar of Societies its approval of another new Hall in Kuala Lumpur after it obtained feedback from its 300-odd members.

SCAH deputy president Tan Yew Sing said today the initial feedback was that the majority of SCAH affiliated members were unhappy with the controversial formation of the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Assembly Hall (KLCAH).

"We will hold a briefing for all our members next Sunday in a move to gather feedback from them officially. After that, we will submit our objection to the ROS," he told a press conference at the SCAH office in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

Tan said the ROS should reconsider the suitability of approving the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Assembly Hall (KLCAH) since the latter is duplicating the role of SCAH.

Timing in question

"We are puzzled that the registration of KLCAH could be approved within three weeks after they submitted the application. Another thing we wish to question is the timing - it was approved a day prior to our ex-premier (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) stepping down," he revealed.

The formation of KLCAH which caught many by surprise has sparked off a controversy within the Chinese community as it is seen as a 'threat' to the 80-year-old SCAH.

SCAH constitutionally adopts both Federal Territory and Selangor Chinese-based associations as members.

Certain quarters claimed that Mahathir's special aide Mathias Chang was behind the formation of KLCAH and providing assistance to KLCAH president Liew Poon Siak who was keen to form another Hall after his defeat in the contest for the SCAH presidency in 1998.

However, Liew declined to comment on this beyond saying that they are friends. The duo were well known for their close ties after they organised the tea-serving ceremony for Mahathir in September 2001 and the 'Thank you, prime minister' mass gathering last October.

Liew is also the president for the Federation of Chinese Guilds and Associations. He defended the KLCAH formation saying that the majority of the 2,000 Chinese-based associations in Kuala Lumpur have yet to join SCAH.

Bad precedent

Responding on this, the SCAH deputy president countered the argument with an analogy.

"Not every Hokkien (a Chinese clan) will join the Selangor Hokkien Association. Does this mean that there is a need to form another Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Association when the former constitutionally accepts members from the two areas? This reason is unconvincing," he said.

Tan said Liew should not exploit the rights of association as an excuse to form KLCAH because the formation was "obviously due to (Liew's) defeat in the 1998 election".

"I must stress that SCAH respects the rights of association. But this formation could set a bad precedent and leave a negative impact to the Chinese community. It could also split the Chinese associations in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur," he said.

Tan added if KLCAH claimed it represents the community's voice, then its preparatory works should have been made public and not shrouded in secrecy.

Tan described it as most unfortunate that the formation of KLCAH was led by a veteran from SCAH who complimented the struggles of the Hall over the past decades.

Liew has served as SCAH deputy president and secretary-general and was also on the SCAH directors' board since the 80s.

"If there is anything that he (Liew) is unhappy about, he should have brought it up at SCAH meetings. To form a rival Hall is not the way to do things," Tan added.