Transport Minister and MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy’s formal announcement not to re-contest the Selayang parliamentary seat in the March 8 general election may have caught the public by surprise.

However, in the past week, party insiders knew that it was coming when "news" leaked that his name was not in the BN’s candidate nomination list. This further reinforced the surfacing of the old rumours that Chan would be quitting active politics and public office.

Chan’s public announcement citing health reasons as the main reason of his decision not seeking re-election also raises the question whether he would also quit his deputy presidency post. His latest move may pave a new political scenario within the party, besides new vacancy post for the party elections. Although the party leadership’s main priority lies in the preparations for the coming general election, Chan’s stepping down from his parliamentary seat will inevitably trigger an open question among party rank and file on the party president’s next political move.

chan kong choy election quit 210208 annoucement However, some quarters speculated that 53-year-old Chan would be asked to remain as deputy president until the party polls are held or at least when the general election is over. This, according to insider sources, was to ensure the temporary status quo of Chan would ensure stability within MCA as it faces the tough challenges in the coming elections.

Notably known as a Team 'B' leader during the Ling-Lim power tussle within the MCA, Chan, a prot é g é of Lim Ah Lek, was made deputy president according to a "peace plan" while Ong Ka Ting (anointed successor of former president Dr Ling Liong Sik) took on the helm as president in 2003.

Ong (elected as president) and his deputy Chan, sailed smoothly through the 2005 party elections but not without some bruises thrown in when they were challenged by former vice-president Chua Jui Meng and former secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Peh for the respective posts. Ong Ka Ting won the presidency with 1,515 against Chua’s 819 while the deputy president's post faced a three-cornered contest. Chan polled 1,315 votes against former party secretary general Dr Ting Chew Peh’s 938 and former youth leader Chan Tse Yuen’s 72 votes.

2005 party elections

But the memory lingers on in the minds of many party delegates and reporters who covered the event on an incident during the 2005 party elections. During the wait for the results, there were wild speculations that Ting Chew Peh had won, sending panic among his supporters including Ong Ka Ting. After the results were known, Chan, when asked about the speculation that he had lost to Ting, the newly elected deputy president replied, "I don’t know why you people take it so seriously. I did not take it seriously, didn’t you see me smiling all the while on stage."

Former political secretary (to Chan Siang Sun) Chan Kong Choy who hailed from Bentong, Pahang started his political career way back in 1987 as the state’s youth chief. In 1988 he was Vice Chairman of the state youth movement and a year later, he had a double promotion as the party’s national organising secretary as well as the state’s organising secretary while holding the post as the state’s vice chairman.

Chan was elected as national MCA Youth chairman on 26th June 1993 (which automatically made him a vice-president by virtue of his post in the youth wing). He did not seek re-election as Youth chairman but contested for the vice presidency and served 1999-2002 term. He was again re-elected for the same post in the June 2002 to 2005 party elections before elected as deputy president in 2005 party elections, the latter during the Ong leadership.

According to some sources, Chan is not expected to re-contest the deputy presidency in the next MCA party elections in view of his health reasons. This unexpected scenario in the party is likely to stroke some power tussle within the party ranks. Among the four MCA vice-presidents elected in the 2005 party elections, namely Dr Fong Chan Onn, Dr Chua Soi Lek, Ong Tee Keat and Donald Lim Siang Chai, three will be re-contesting in the coming general elections.

Dr Fong Chan Onn who scored the highest votes of 1,496 will be contesting in the parliamentary seat of Alor Gajah (Malacca). Dr Chua Soi Lek (second highest votes of 1,398) who was involved in a sex scandal has been dropped from the nomination following his resignations from his government and party posts. Third in line is Ong Tee Keat (1,301 votes) who will be re-contesting the Pandan parliamentary seat in Selangor and the fourth vice-president Donald Lim Siang Chai (1,225) is defending his PJ Selatan seat.

Promotion not automatic

Will the deputy presidency vacated by Chan prompt other 2005 candidates who vied for the vice president's posts but lost, including Tan Chai Ho (1,223) who lost by two votes to Donald Lim, Fu Ah Kiow (1,137), Chor Chee Heung (629). Both Yap Pian Hon and Chau Tet Onn are believed to be uninterested parties. An insider viewed that among the potential challengers to the vice presidency as mentioned, only those given seats in the coming elections will stand a better chance provided they emerge as victors and even better, if they were given government posts after the polls.

But in the arena of MCA politics, the rise from a vice president does not automatically grant a chance in promotion to the deputy presidency despite going through a party election process. It is expected that come party elections, there will be much thinking on the part of the president and particularly his rivals for the positioning of their candidates. But not for the moment, as the general election remains its top priority. In politics, a day is a long time.

MCA history is littered with battlefields and political scars left behind by leadership crises, mainly fought between the president and his deputy. This was particularly evident during the Lee San Choon leadership period and the Ling Liong Sik era. It was through such a crisis during Ling’s tussle with Lim Ah Lek, his deputy that Ong Ka Ting and Chan Kong Choy were promoted to the top party posts as part of a peace plan or formula under the supervision of the former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad including the current prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Ong will serve his last term as president provided he seeks re-election and win in the party elections to be held after the general elections which will end in 2012. Who will be the successor to Chan Kong Choy? Nobody knows yet, but one thing is certain, party members will be watchful of his next moves.