statement

The spate of news presentations and analyses in The Star newspaper recently appear designed to pit me against Dr Ling Liong Sik for the MCA president's post in next year's party elections.

At no time have I ever said that I will challenge Ling. In fact, when my division met a few days ago, divisional leaders, including myself, gave several briefings to them. No one at any time touched on the subject of next year's party elections during those briefings . At no time did anyone suggest that I go for any particular position next year.

The briefing touched on events of the EGM up to the present time and of the attempt to split the division and party by certain groups within the party. The division party unanimously resolved to support me fully in whatever decisions and actions that I may undertake.

All I and some of my colleagues have done since the Nanyang affair was to raise issues which would affect the Chinese community and in consequence, the position of the Barisan Nasional. As an elected vice-president of the MCA, which is the senior component of the BN, it is my duty and responsibility to raise issues that in my belief are detrimental to the Chinese community and to the country in the long term.

Instead, The Star has sought to demonise those MCA leaders, including me, who have voiced views contrary to that expressed by the party president.

The statement by my deputy division head in Bakri have been distorted and misquoted by The Star to make it appear as if my division was backing me in a fight against Ling. In reality, it is The Star through its analysis and news presentations during the past week that has been seeking to 'promote' a challenge by me against Ling.

A newspaper in a multi-racial, developing country like us has a more important role to play as a catalyst for unity and progress. The Star , sadly, is not playing that role, as evident by its recent reporting which has been void of journalistic integrity and objectivity.

In its analysis, I have been described as a "recalcitrant, an over-the-hill politician who is making a last shot at the MCA top post", as a small boy who is sulking, as someone in charge of the "Hell Ministry" and someone bent on spending his time merely politicking, as opposed to Ling, who is described as having the best virtues of a leader.

I hope that The Star and other newspapers will be fair to me and my colleagues and not to seek to demonise and depict us as power-crazy leaders. All we have done is merely to voice dissenting views which we, in good faith, believed to be right. Yet, my colleagues and I are being depicted in the most negative terms in The Star .

I do not intend to play the game The Star wants me to play. There are bigger issues that all of us, as responsible Malaysians and leaders, have to deal with. I have responsibilities to the Chinese community as an elected MCA vice-president and I have responsibilities and duties to the Barisan Nasional and the Malaysian people as a Health Minister as a leader.

I intend, as I have done all these years, to give my fullest commitment to my duties and responsibilities and will not be detracted by negative and biased reporting. My only wish is that The Star will try to be more objective and neutral and look at the bigger issue of nation-building rather than spoil for fights.