MCA stalwart Chua Jui Meng's name first cropped up in 2002 as a possible challenger against former party president Dr Ling Liong Sik. That contest never took place because of a peace plan which quickly doused the then internal squabble in the party.

Now, his name is being bandied about again as the natural choice to take on current party chief Ong Ka Ting for the MCA presidency in the triennial polls, expected to be held in August.

While the former health minister wisely avoided commenting on the issue altogether, it has not stopped speculations on his purported interest and whether there should be a contest at all.

However, many party members seem to agree on one thing. That a contest for the party presidency is a healthy democratic exercise which should be welcomed.

"In a democratic system, any eligible member can contest any post. It should not be seen as something that is negative for the party because a leader has to hear the voice of those who oppose him as well," said a party leader from Johor's Bakri, the division headed by Chua.

"It will not be a surprise to me should Chua go for the top post," he added.

He said the division would pledge its full support to Chua should he decides to take on Ong.

Chances 'unpredictable'

Stating that Chua's chances of victory is "very unpredictable", he nevertheless said an open contest is essential in assessing the strength of the new leadership.

"If the victory margin is 80:20, the mandate is clear. If it is 55:45, the winner has a lot of soul-searching to do," he added.

Former Team B leader and Selangor's Serdang MP Yap Pian Hon refused to be drawn into a discussion on the possibility of the Ong-Chua contest except to say that "democracy must be upheld in the party polls."

The party veteran said he has yet to discuss the matter with his division.

Chua, 62, a senior vice-president of the party, was unceremoniously dropped as a minister after last year's general election.

He was also seen as a popular candidate to take over as MCA president following the resignation of Dr Ling Liong Sik and his deputy-cum-nemesis Lim Ah Lek on May 23, 2003.

However, the top two positions were taken over by their respective proteges, Ong and Chan Kong Choy.

Chua has three choices - to hold on to his current post as vice-president, go for broke by taking on one of the top two posts, or to completely retire from politics.

He will face a tough fight to hold on to one of the four vice-president posts as a number of ambitious new faces have stated their intention to contest. Contesting one of the two top posts will be even harder.

A Perak MCA leader told malaysiakini that "it was not appropriate to leave Chua out in the cold as he was a senior vice-president".

He lamented that the party had instead promoted two juniors - both in their 40s - to lead the country's second biggest political party.

Expressing his support to Chua to contest against Ong, he also said a contest would bring back the legitimacy back to the presidency.

"Ong and Chan were appointed to their posts. They were not elected. Should there be a contest, it should not be seen as a challenge against the current president because party delegates have yet to elect their president," he said.

"I think the grassroots are mature enough to deal with an open contest although we did not have any election over the last six years," the leader said, adding that "I believe a lot of people are waiting for a fight."

Not aggressive

Nonetheless, Bakri division deputy chief Ng Kok Hwa opined that Chua may not challenge the presidency but will vie for the deputy president's post or remain as a vice-president.

"I feel that he is not prepared to step down yet, but he is also not a person who aspires for high position. I believe he just wants to carry on serving as a minister," Ng said.

According to him, Chua's regret was that he could not fulfill his plan to upgrade certain facilities at the Health Ministry after being dropped from the cabinet.

"He is not an aggressive person, which makes me believe that he will not challenge Ong," said Ng, adding that Chua had remained tightlipped over his future plan.

"Chua has strong grassroots support but that does not mean he could mount a challenge for the top post. In any case, winning is not that easy," Ng noted.

"Having said that, it is also premature to rule him out of a contest," he added.

The last time there was a contest for the MCA president's post was in 1993 when then vice-president Woon See Chin took on incumbent Dr Ling Liong Sik. Ling won hands down.