opinion

A Chinese daily reported today that Prime Minister and Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad met MCA's rebellious Youth chief Ong Tee Keat 'secretly' at the Sultan Abdul Halim airport in Kedah yesterday.

The MCA-owned China Press added in its report titled 'PM held secret talk with Ong Tee Keat' that the Youth leader refused to divulge what transpired during the 10-minute meeting which took place in the airport's VIP room.

Also quoted was Kedah MCA chairman Beh Heng Siong who said, "We were not informed (of the 'secret meeting') beforehand, and I do not know why Mr Ong is here suddenly".

Beh was appointed by MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik to replace former state chief and potential challenger for the presidency, Chua Jui Meng.

According to the report, Kedah Menteri Besar Syed Razak and former menteri besar Osman Arof were also present at the meeting.

Ong was reported to have arrived at the airport in an official Penang government limousine, accompanied by 'a MCA Youth leader' and Mahathir's recently appointed Chinese press secretary, Cheng Kee Chien.

It was likely that Ong - who was blamed for 'planning and instigating' the fracas which marred the Aug 3 MCA Youth annual meet - was summoned by Mahathir through Cheng.

Cheng is the former deputy editor-in-chief of the now MCA-owned Nanyang Siang Pau .

Although China Press quoted Ong as saying that the meeting was not about party matters but regarding 'private affairs', it is difficult to explain the presence of two Umno strongmen at the 'secret' meeting.

Another question which arises is, were those 'private affairs' so pressing that Ong had to rush to Kedah?

And on another note, are Mahathir and Ong so close that they discuss 'private affairs' in the VIP room in a state airport?

An 'appeal'

One possibility of the 'secret meeting' is that Mahathir personally 'appealed' to Ong not to carry out his anti-Ling and anti-'Team A' activities.

And if that was the case, it shows that Mahathir and Umno want Ling's faction to lead the second largest component party into the next general elections in order to provide security and stability to Barisan Nasional and to protect Umno in ethnically mixed constituencies.

After all, Ling and 'Team A' control a major English daily and two national Chinese dailies, and command 32 out of the 40 members of the party's central committee.

For short-term gains, the 'pragmatic' Mahathir may prefer Ling's presence so that his political machineries can be use to benefit Umno in the coming general elections.

However, this may be regarded as 'unfair' by Ong and 'Team B'. They strongly feel that they have been wronged by the 'high-handedness' of Ling and 'Team A'

Furthermore, 'Team B' leaders also believe that they can perform better than 'Team A'- whose intra-party rivals are 'corrupt' and have 'lost the confidence of the Chinese community' - in protecting the interests of Barisan Nasional.

According to this line of reasoning, MCA under the leadership of Ling would most likely be a burden or liability to Umno and Barisan Nasional in the coming elections. Machineries, however strong, can never replace political credibility of leaders.

A 'warning'

There is also another possibility that the 'secret meeting' called by Mahathir was intended to favour Ong and 'Team B'. It could have served as a warning to Ling and his faction, telling them that Ong has direct access to the prime minister, who is also Umno president and chairman of Barisan Nasional.

It could, by extension, serve to 'protect' Ong from being 'disciplined' in the coming meeting of the MCA central committee scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 20.

Normally, no MCA top leadership, strong or weak, would dare challenge the decision of the Umno president.

Open speculations are already rife in newspapers of all languages that Ong may be 'disciplined' in one form or another in the coming central committee meeting.

And if no such action is taken as a result of the 'secret meeting', leaders and supporters of 'Team B' would most likely construe that they have the 'blessing' of the Umno president in their crusade against Ling and his 'Team A'.

With mass emotion at the grassroots having been set in motion, appearance is certainly more important than reality.

However, MCA's history also shows that once party dissidents are seen, regarded or perceived as being 'controlled' , 'manipulated' or 'supported' by Umno in their bid for leadership positions, they would lose the support or goodwill of the party diehards as well as a portion of the Chinese civil society.

Thus, obtaining Umno's support or being seen to be doing so could backfire on Ong and other 'Team B' leaders. They may be derided in secret murmurs among delegates as 'Umno agents', 'Trojan horses' and 'puppets'.

If 'Team A' is defeated in the next year's party elections, its supporters nationwide might then blame Umno for supporting their rivals and vent their anger in the 2004 general elections.

JAMES WONG WING ON is chief analyst of Strategic Analysis Malaysia (SAM) which produces the subscriber-based political report, Analysis Malaysia. James is a former member of parliament (1990-1995) and a former columnist for the Sin Chew Jit Poh Chinese daily. He read political science and economics at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. While in Sin Chew, he and a team of journalists won the top awards of Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) for 1998 and 1999.