The curtain fell on the first day of the MCA elections, with no surprises in the contest for the positions in the party's Youth and Wanita wings.

Hot favourite Liow Tiong Lai ( photo, middle ) was elected as the new Youth chief with an overwhelming majority, defeating the wing's Kapar division head Song Kee Chai.

Liow garnered 1,433 votes while his challenger managed to only bag 264.

As for deputy Youth chief, the son of former MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik, Hee Leong ( photo, far left )emerged victorious in the four-cornered fight.

Hee Leong, 35, who is the Perak MCA Youth chief, polled 640 votes. Whereas his brother, Hee Keat managed to pull enough vote to get into the 20-member Youth central committee.

The results were announced at 7.10pm. However, an hour earlier, 'unofficial results' began to circulate announcing a thumping victory for the Ling brothers.

Hee Leong arrived at the Crown Princess Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, where the wing's annual meet was held, about 20 minutes before the results were announced.

The smiling candidate shook hands with his supporters as he walked towards his seat. He was later joined by his younger brother and the two posed for the barrage of press photographers in the hall.

However, Hee Keat ( photo, right )appeared disappointed when the results were announced as he came in second last among the 20 central committee members.

Photographers scuffle

The ensuing celebrations were punctuated by scuffles that erupted among photographers clamouring for the best angle.

MCA Youth leaders, who once earned notoriety for punching and throwing chairs at each other a few years back, were this time playing a more passive role in trying to calm the enraged press representatives.

Meanwhile, the Wanita wing elections turned out to be a tame affair as well with no surprises in the results or the presence of fuming photographers.

Apart from its chairperson Dr Ng Yen Yen and four vice-presidents winning unopposed, the contest for the deputy chief post also saw favourite Chew Mei Fun sailing past her opponent Tai Sim Yew.

Chew garnered 1,230 votes while Tai, who is the Jinjang Utara Tambahan Sector A Wanita branch chief, secured 423 votes. There were 11 spoilt votes.

Now the focus is on Day 2, where the contest for the party presidency, deputy presidency and vice-presidency will take place.

Their comments

Liow Tiong Lai

"I am grateful for the support of the delegates, I will try my best to lead the party and serve the grassroots of the MCA Youth."

Responding to a question on whether the line-up was favourable to his team, Liow said he respected the decision of the central delegates.

On whether the new line-up is his favourable team, he said he will respect the decision of the central delegates. He also denied 'cai tan' (preferred candidates list) existed in today's election.

Song Kee Chai

"Win or lose I will remain in the family of MCA Youth. I don't regret my decision to contest and will continue to serve the party as the Kapar youth division chief."

Ling Hee Leong

"I am very happy. Even if I had won by a majority of one vote, I would have been happy but my majority is 164 votes. My first task is to get together with other leaders and discuss the programmes that we are going to run."

Asked if he was surprised with the results, he said: "I was confident but like I said earlier, I was leaving the decision to the delegates."

On whether his victory was due to his father's influence, he replied: "That's an opinion. I respect everyone's opinion."

Loh Seng Kok (deputy youth chief unsuccessful candidate)

"I knew it was an uphill battle. However, the result will not be a setback on my political career, it will encourage me to move forward."

On the reasons for his defeat, he said: "My opponents have a very strong background."

Asked if he was referring to the Ling senior factor, he said: "This is an opinion among some of the delegates and we know his (Hee Leong's) background. It is up to the media to interpret."

Ling Hee Keat

"This is my first time being elected to the central committee. I will try my best to learn what the duties of a central committee member are and I know it involves teamwork."

Chew Mei Fun

"I am satisfied with the result. Losing 30 percent of the votes is not surprising in a contest."

Tai Sim Yew

"I am a little disappointed. But it was not too bad as this is my first attempt and I am unknown to many people."

Youth polls - The winners and losers