MCA president Ong Ka Ting today agreed that the MCA-Gerakan joint merger committee should be upgraged to the presidential level.

The committee is currently led by the deputy presidents of both the Barisan Nasional component parties.

Ong, who is also Housing and Local Government Minister, said he would raise the issue with his Gerakan counterpart Dr Lim Keng Yaik before next Wednesday's cabinet meeting.

"Yes, instead of a committee (headed by the two party deputy presidents), we should be part of that committee," he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report.

The proposed merger between the two parties was first announced by both Ong and Lim on Dec 18 at a joint party dinner in Alor Star, Kedah.

Meetings postponed

Following this, a 10-member merger committee was set-up with equal representation and jointly led by MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy and his Gerakan counterpart Kerk Choo Ting.

MCA's representatives on the committee are vice-president Dr Fong Chan Onn, secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Peh, Youth chief Ong Tee Keat and Wanita chief Dr Ng Yen Yen.

The Gerakan representatives are vice-president Senator Dr S Vijayaratnam, secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye, Youth chief Mah Siew Keong and Wanita chief Rina Bhar.

However, the merger committee has only met once so far.

Last Saturday, Chan announced that further meetings of the committee had been postponed indefinitely until the leaders of the two parties had reached agreement on its upgrading.

While MCA is an ethnic Chinese party, Gerakan is a Chinese-based multiracial party. The latter was an opposition party until it joined the BN in 1974.