The nine-year term limit imposed on the post of MCA president has been touted by certain quarters as an example of democracy in the party.

In a July 15 article in Nanyang Siang Pau, MCA's Life Long Learning Campaign director Quek Ngee Meng wrote that the party is the first to restrict the tenure of its top leaders.

He also dismissed the minimum nomination system and cadre election system in other parties as "constraining the rights of delegates".

(The minimum nomination system is practised by Umno where candidates must obtain a minimum number of nominations from divisions to be eligible to contest. The cadre election system is practised by DAP where central committee members are elected by central delegates but top posts such as president and secretary-general are elected by central committee members.)

Researcher of the MCA-linked Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy Research Ng Kian Nam wrote in Sin Chew Daily on July 16 that the limit imposed by MCA is a "milestone in the democratisation of Malaysian politics".

Credible candidates

Coming to the defence of Umno was Shahrir Abdul Samad, who is also the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club president.

He said the party's election system is passed by the general assembly without breaching the principle of democracy.

"Umno is an important party. We don't want any person to simply offer himself (for the election). Candidate must have certain qualities and criteria. He must be a viable candidate," explained the Johor Baru MP.

Citing the general election as an example, Shahrir said the eligible candidate must meet certain conditions such as not being a bankrupt, absence of a criminal record and can afford the deposit.

DAP publicity secretary and Seputeh parliamentarian Teresa Kok said the scenario in DAP is different from that in MCA.

"MCA is a mono-ethnic ruling party with nationwide grassroots organisations and every state has fair participation in the central leadership," she said.

"To assure balance among different ethnic groups, gender and states in the leadership, DAP needs to practise the cadre election system; otherwise weaker states such as Terengganu and Pahang and non-Chinese leaders will not be elected through direct election," she said.

She stressed that the central committee members of DAP are still elected directly by delegates.

Protracted feud

Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) information head Tian Chua said the limit in MCA came about after a protracted feud in the party and this should not be viewed solely as an effort initiated to democratise the party.

However, he agreed that the change is an improvement.

"Unless MCA openly suggests to limit the prime minister's term, the change in MCA has no impact on the national system This was once proposed by Barisan Alternatif," he added.

(Barisan Alternatif is an opposition alliance compromising PKR and PAS. DAP was once a member, but exited after differences with PAS over the latter's ambition to form an Islamic state)

PAS secretary-general Kamaruddin Jaafar shared his view, stating that MCA implemented the new presidential term only after a long-running internal dispute.

He said democracy in MCA was not significant, since there have been reports of members being barred from meeting some candidates.

Despite this, he said PAS welcomed the move and hoped that MCA will continue to initiate more positive changes.

Democracy 'more important'

In his article, Quek also described the forthcoming 'top-to-bottom' contest in MCA as reflecting the spirit of democracy. Ng, on the other hand, termed it as a 'natural democratic phenomenon'.

Commenting on this, both Shahrir and Kamaruddin said democracy is not about elections only.

"Democracy includes the freedom of members to express dissidence and participation of members (in party affair). The important part of democracy is after election," said Shahrir.

Kok also disagreed that the upcoming contest in MCA was a sign of democracy.

She said the heated battle comes after six years of internal simmering whereas the rich financial resources of the party had also lured many aspirants.

"When DAP was facing the 'anti-Lim Kit Siang' movement in 1997, instead of undemocratically cancelling the election like MCA did in 2003, we held the election earlier," she said.

Lim, who is the Parliamentary Opposition Leader and Ipoh Timor MP, was the former DAP chairperson. He relinquished the position last year and now plays more of an advisory role to the party.

On Aug 20, MCA will see a contest for the posts of president and deputy president, a first in two decades. There are also nine candidates in the running for the four posts of vice-president.