DAP Perak Secretary Nga Kor Ming believes that several dramatic turn of events in the run- up to the coming general election will see the MCA turning into a 'Ong brothers' dynasty'.

Nga said MCA president Ong Ka Ting and his older brother party Secretary General Ong Ka Chuan, were tightening their grip on the party by several pre-election manouvers throughout the country.

Speaking to Malaysiakini at the sidelines of a DAP press conference in Ipoh yesterday, Nga said the most apparent example of their power grab was Ka Chuan's candidacy for the 'safe' parliament seat of Tanjung Malim, Perak.

nga kor ming Nga ( pix, left ) the Pantai Remis incumbent, believes that the move was deliberate to pave the way for Ka Chuan to join younger brother Ka Ting in the cabinet and fill up MCA's quota.

"Given that MCA’s Number 2 Chan Kong Choy is not contesting and Ka Chuan is now vying for a safe seat, this confirms rumours that MCA would be having their first ever pair of brothers as cabinet ministers .

"It is no less than an 'Ong brothers dynasty' in the making," said Nga.

Nga expressed his ‘deepest sympathy’ for Chan, the former transport minister, for having to unexpectedly bow out of the coming general elections.

"In reality, Chan did not participate because he is not happy with the Ong brothers. We can see clearly that the MCA line up for the general election belongs to the Ong brothers' camp.

"That's why there is unhappiness in the MCA [...] it has come to the point where the grassroots have threatened to close down their bilik gerakan and also quit the party. This is something very rare," he claimed.

Only loser

Incidently, Nga along with his cousin Ngeh Khoo Ham, would be vying for the Taiping and Beruas parliamentary seats respectively this time round.

Nga said unlike Ka Chuan's 'safe' Tanjung Malim seat, he and Ngeh would be contesting the two 'dangerous' seats following decisions made by the DAP national leadership.

"Ironically, Ka Chua previously said that he wanted to develop the Kinta Valley ... and came out with a nine-point plan. Now however, he has retreated to Tanjung Malim.

"Obviously we can tell that the MCA electoral line up is for personal gain. The DAP, on the other hand, is for the rakyat and we're transparent," he said.

ong ka chuan Ka Chuan ( pix, right) has previously served four terms as a Perak state exco member but lost in maiden his bid for a parliament seat in 2004 when he was defeated by DAP's Fong Po Kuan in Batu Gajah.

He is the only one out of MCA's 40 parliamentary candidate for this general election to have lost in the last general election. The party has also axed 15 incumbents for their current line up.

The Tanjung Malim parliamentary seat comprises 49 percent Malays and 32 percent Chinese. The incumbent for the seat was Loke Yuen Yow.

Ka Ting will contest the Kulai parliamentary seat where there is a 59 percent Chinese majority. He is the incumbent for the Tanjung Piai parliamentary seat. Both seats are in Johor.

On his colleague’s Fong Po Kuan’s decision to defend her Batu Gajah seat, Nga denied reports that he had eyed her seat and had proposed that she stand elsewhere.

‘Bigger picture’

"These rumours are the work of our enemies. In my 11 years in politics, I have always done things outright and never involved myself in sabotage.

"I am part of the three-member panel for selecting DAP Perak’s candidates. If I was really keen on her seat, I would not have fully supported Fong in defending her seat. We never recommended anyone else for the seat," he added.

fong po kuan However, when asked on Fong's ( pix, left ) earlier decision not to defend the seat due to 'internal problems' within DAP Perak, Nga did not deny her claim and instead said that it was more important now to focus on the upcoming general election.

"I'm very glad that she is back and will fight with us side by side. Now is a critical time and we have to unite in order to create history. Fong is looking at the bigger picture.

"There will be difference of opinion in any organisation but it is more important that every member works in the same direction," he said.