MCA leaders displeased with boss given 'undignified' role

Certain quarters within MCA are not pleased with their president Wee Ka Siong’s appointment as the investment adviser to Chinese nationals and corporations in Malaysia.

Among them is former MCA vice-president Ti Lian Ker who feels that the position does not correspond with Ka Siong’s status as a BN component party leader, who is traditionally given ministerial posts.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, he described the position as “undignified” and expressed concern that it could impact MCA’s image.

Hoping that Ka Siong (above) would reject the post, he pointed out that MCA is about “politics and not business”.

“We need to look at preparing for the next general election, which will be crucial for MCA and the coalition government.

“We should be focused on creating the next generation of leaders. This must be our main focus, not exploring business opportunities,” he said.

According to Ti, a more appropriate position would be to appoint Wee as a special envoy with a ministerial ranking.

Disrespectful

During the previous administrations, it was common practice to appoint party leaders as special envoys with ministerial status.

Another MCA leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that when the news of Wee’s appointment was announced, several former party ministers also disapproved.

“This is considered disrespectful. It is like a slap in the face, where a hole was dug and the president pushed into it,” he told Malaysiakini.

Similarly, an MCA veteran, who also declined to be named, argued that the post is inferior to the one offered to the party’s former Wanita chief Heng Seai Kie in 2015.

“Heng was given an office and driver. Whereas, this (Wee’s appointment) is just an empty title and it belittles MCA,” he added.

Former premier Najib Abdul Razak had appointed Heng as a ministerial-level special adviser for the implementation of the National Unity Blueprint.

On Sunday, BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced Wee’s appointment when officiating MCA’s general assembly.

MCA has two MPs – Ka Siong (Ayer Hitam) and Wee Jeck Seng (Tanjung Piai), who were appointed transport minister and deputy plantation industries and commodities minister respectively under Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s government.

However, under Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition government, MCA was not given any position in the cabinet.

It was speculated that there were 10 BN MPs, including the MCA duo, who had signed the statutory declarations supporting Muhyiddin Yassin as the prime minister after the 15th general election when no party obtained a simple majority.

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