Tfhe phrase political roller-coaster certainly rings true for Dr Chua Soi Lek in 2008. His meteoric rise in the MCA was thought to have come to an abrupt end when he resigned in disgrace from all government and party positions over a sex scandal in January this year.

However, he managed to stage a comeback following the MCA elections when he was voted in as deputy president.

ong tee keat interview 230810 04 Pundits had a field day predicting the future of Chua, especially so, when he is known to have a less than cordial relationship with the new party president, Ong Tee Keat.

Hopes of both parties putting aside differences and working together seemed to unbuckle after Ong unveiled his list of office bearers for MCA, which many saw as an attempt to sideline Chua to strengthen his grip of the party.

The move by the party chief to follow the paths of past party presidents to helm Johor will stem Chua's influence in the MCA stronghold state.

The Johor doctor was also denied the post of disciplinary bureau chief, a position many argue is reserved for the deputy president.

Chua's rise and fall, and subsequent revival and fall, has many predicting whether he will bounce back and claim the coveted role of being appointed cabinet minister.

The answer lies in the leadership styles and moral background of seemingly opposed personalities of both Chua and Ong.

Person above party?

Although Ong's party line-up is seen as unorthodox, Ong has stayed on course and within his presidential powers and privilege.

Those who criticised the role given to the deputy president as unofficial government policy ombudsman (a term coined by Chua himself) should realise that it was Chua's manifesto for MCA to get into 'real politics'. Instead of crying over the 'limited space' provided, Chua should take this as an opportunity to change, revive and return the party to relevance.

mca snoop team investigation 210508 chua soi lek In short, Chua should take this opportunity to focus on party work and utilise his links with other BN component parties in government in the light of his long tenure as Johor state exco member and a term as health minister. He should not make excuses for breaking his promise to work for the party.

His excuse in apologising to party members before he can even begin his task citing 'limited space' and not being able to 'function properly' further chips away at Chua's credibility in reviving the party.

He did after all, boast of his extensive experience and connections in government in the run-up to the party elections. This about-turn reveals his ambition to be a cabinet minister.

In the interview with Malaysiakini which was published days after the party line-up was announced, Chua spoke at length about his chances of getting back the coveted government post. This was eschewed by many who viewed it as 'doing a twist' or even a veiled threat to the MCA leadership.

Chua was quoted as saying, "I don't want my leaders to tell me that it is the prime minister who doesn't accept me, when they don't even submit my name.

"From the way the Chinese media have reported it, I know they (party leaders) are going to use this so I want to pre-empt it."

The question seems to be: Why pre-empt the matter about cabinet positions? This is only true if one is power hungry and lusts after it.

If Chua is sincere in putting party before self, he should take a leaf from MCA party history. One need not be a cabinet minister to be able to function properly or to have a wider space to work with.

tan koon swan Tan Koon Swan ( right ), as MCA president, opted to stay out of cabinet to resolve his personal matters, leaving the vacant position to Chan Siang Sun.

A more recent example involved immediate past president and deputy, Ong Ka Ting and Chan Kong Choy, who both refused cabinet positions following the March 8 political tsunami , preferring to focus on rebuilding the party.

Ministerial responsibility

Chua should also take note that private morality has a strong bearing on public office. It is a constitutional convention of ministerial responsibility, adopted from the Westminster principle (but universally accepted) that each minister is responsible for his private conduct in addition to the general conduct of his department and acts done by officials in his department (Brazier, 1997).

It is not a question of whether Umno being the BN big brother is able to accept a tainted leader like Chua, but a universal notion that persons who hold public office must maintain a high standard of morality.

Recently, in Japan, Toshikatsu Masuoka, the Japan minister of agriculture hanged himself for personal scandal, as was Antonia Vitorino who resigned from the Portugal cabinet. An extreme example is Mick Young a minister from Australia who resigned for simply not declaring a stuff toy "Paddington Bear" to immigration.

Sex scandals include David Mellor from the United Kingdom, whose escapades was uncovered in the publication of his misdeeds by his partner, and in the US, the resignation of Governor Spitzer over the paying of high-class prostitute using government money.

mca agm 181008 chua soi lek Yes, Chua did resign. But it should rest there.

His ambition for an about-turn, arising from his pre-emptive statement shows the lack of sincerity on his part.

Indeed, this is not the first time that Chua has demonstrated a decision flip-flop.

After denying that he will resign, he turned around and said that "the rakyat wants me to resign". He further mentioned that people have adopted a holier-than-thou attitude in the matter.

"I thought that my admission of my involvement, the people would forgive me. But I thought wrong," he was further quoted as saying.

Now, the questions seems to be why has Chua forgotten about what the rakyat want?

It must be clear that the party deputy president have to-date, not shown proof that he has won the people's hearts and trust. So far, he has only shown forgiveness from his family members, and his recent election as party deputy chief can be taken to mean that more than half the 2,400-odd MCA delegates had forgiven him. The task of being a minister definitely takes much more than that.

Going beyond his manifesto

In the absence of a mandate from the people (as he did not participate in the last general election), it is advisable for Chua to stick to the mandate given by the party delegates. This means he has to carry out what he promised in his manifesto.

It is also interesting to note that nowhere in his manifesto did Chua mention that he will be able to function more effectively to bring about the avowed change by being a cabinet minister. His manifesto also did not outline the powers he should have in order to carry out his promises should he be elected. In fact, he did not even ask the party delegates to vote him so that can chart his path towards a cabinet position.

Seen here, he should have been more gracious for the specially created position of being government policy monitoring bureau chief for at least, that is consistent with his election promises and mission for the party.

By constitutional convention, Ong, as head of the party, will recommend names to the prime minister as to who should fill the ministerial post allocated to the MCA. So far, Ong has kept the choice of candidates close to his chest.

chua soi lek interview 131108 03 Chua's view that MCA central delegates' decision to vote him in is a sign that the grassroots want to see him return to the government post is as mentioned, clearly mistaken.

It is not unprecedented for a MCA deputy president not to be given or refuse a government position.

In 1982, during president Lee San Choon's tenure, the then Labour Minister Richard Ho, who was deputy president, was not nominated to stand in the Lumut parliamentary seat and was subsequently denied a cabinet position, which went to his political secretary instead.

Lee Kim Sai, likewise was overlooked for a government position despite being an MP and deputy MCA president.

There are countless instances of MCA vice-presidents not making it to the cabinet, nor even a deputy minister’s position. Yap Pian Hon, who was vice-president twice only remained an MP.

Legal complications

Moral and political considerations aside, Chua's path towards a position in the cabinet also faces legal implications.

Under Article 48 (6) of the Federal Constitution, any member of parliament who resigns will be disqualified for five years from the date of resignation. Therefore, the speculation that his son, Tee Yong, may make way for him in a parliamentary by-election does not hold.

The only possible path for Chua is to be appointed senator since the federal constitution is silent on whether an MP who had resigned is able to be appointed one.

However, given the enormous task lying ahead of him in the party and the fact that by doing so will tantamount to an abuse of power by getting a person who has no business being a government minister in to that position through the back door.

It is unlikely that the rules will be bent to accommodate Chua, unless Chua does another turn-around by saying that he did not technically 'resign' or 'quit' his position as seen here.

In any case, it will only serve to remind the people that Chua had not been honest. His media statement should be taken as an underhand motion to exert pressure on the party leadership to make him a minister and goes to show that he has put himself above party and the people yet again.

RUDY LAM teaches law and jurisprudence at a local university. He also conducts teaching stints in Singapore and Hong Kong.