Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein still owes the Chinese community a proper explanation over inflammatory remarks made by his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin.

Speaking to reporters after attending yesterday's Gerakan Youth delegates conference, MCA Youth leader Liow Tiong Lai said his wing will remind Umno Youth of the delegates' views made at the MCA general assembly last week through the Barisan Nasional channel.

For now however, Liow said Hishamuddin had been throughly briefed on the matter and hoped that the spat would be resolved soon.

"Most importantly, we have already conveyed our views and opinions on this matter where Khairy as a young leader should always be open-minded in order to build his foundation," added Liow.

Liow however, expressed bewilderment when told that Hishamuddin took offence over last week's demands by MCA delegates for Khairy to apologise over the remarks.

Liow: He is dissatisfied with MCA Youth?

Reporter: Yes, he is dissatisfied.

Liow: He should be clear that these are the rights of MCA central committee members to voice their opinions on current affairs. He should respect this. This is very important.

'Cordial ties' as always

Liow was away from the country when Hishammuddin and several Umno leaders lambasted MCA Youth over the call and stood firmly with Khairy's remarks.

On Aug 18, when officiating the Jerlun Umno Youth division meeting in Kedah, Khairy warned party members that Chinese Malaysians would exploit the current infighting within the ruling party to advance their community's interests.

What followed was a barrage of criticisms from top MCA and Gerakan leaders, culminating in their respective annual general meetings over the past week.

Asked whether Hishamuddin's position and Khairy's refusal to apologise will affect the relationship between BN component parties, Liow replied, "No, because there is a strong foundation in BN and cannot be threatened easily. Most importantly, Hishammuddin as the BN Youth chief has showed his sincerity in resolving this issue, and I think this is most important." said Liow.

However, he appeared evasive when asked whether MCA Youth would insist on an apology from Khairy and insisted that matters would be resolved through BN Youth.