Claims that MCA distanced itself from ex-president Dr Ling Liong Sik over a possible lawsuit from Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak are not true, MCA youth chief Chong Sin Woon said.

MCA secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan earlier dismissed Ling's call for Najib's resignation as Ling's "personal opinion".

Ling could be facing a lawsuit after he refused to apologise for saying Najib swindled public funds.

"The sec-gen and president (Liow Tiong Lai) only said it was not the party stand. They did not stay away from Ling. Ling is still our respected former chief.

"Indeed, we are really surprised when PM wants to take legal action against Ling. Ling is not the only one who criticised PM," Chong told reporters at the MCA headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

He then blamed the media for reporting that MCA was distancing itself from Ling.

However, when quizzed whether MCA Youth would support Ling, Chong did not give a direct answer.

"This is Ling's personal opinion, I cannot speak on behalf on the party (whether MCA supports it or not)," he said.

Asked if he supports Ling’s statement in his personal capacity, Chong said: "This is dragging me into the matter between the two (Ling and Najib)."

Media told not to be 'negative'

The MCA Youth central committee has passed a resolution to urge the authorities to release the 1MDB investigation findings immediately, added Chong.

When pressed again to answer whether MCA Youth supports Ling, Chong, who is deputy education minister, said: "You already have a headline (in mind), (on whether) I agree or not. Why should I have to agree or disagree?

"I respect everyone's opinion. Everyone has the right of (free) speech," he said, to the applause of the MCA Youth members present.

Later, Chong was asked to respond to the lament of the MCA grassroots that the current leadership does not support Ling in order to safeguard their positions in government.

He straight away reprimanded the media for being "negative".

"You are coming from a very negative (perception). You started by asking if we do not support Ling because of government positions. Please be fair to us.

"Whatever my answer is, you will treat us negatively. Please. Please, lah," he said.

When pressed to confirm whether he agreed with the claim, Chong did not answer and instead said, "look at you", followed by laughter from some MCA Youth members.

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