KUALA LUMPUR - It appears that hopes for fresh polls in the MCA are dashed now that the all powerful central committee (CC) has decided not to have any.

It's game over for those who had harboured high hopes for this route to be taken to resolve the leadership crisis in the 61-year-old party.

Even though technically fresh polls still can be held if two thirds of the CC were to resign, the sentiment for this has somewhat been lost. It was very simple why the plan stalled: not many CC members were keen to relinquish their lofty positions.

A MEETING of MCA central committee (CC) members today rejected an emergency general meeting (EGM) slated for Nov 28 as it was against the party's constitution, said party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

Besides that, Ong said the notice issued by the group of 16 CC members who wanted to have the EGM supported by vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai was also questionable.

IS the MCA headed for fresh polls or an early party elections once the "Greater Unity Plan" (GUP) is fully implemented and the internal bickering subsides over the next six months to one year?

Some political analysts and party insiders believe this is going to be so, saying indications are strong that things are moving in that direction because massive and speedy efforts have been taken to push for direct elections.

The party is only scheduled to have its triennial elections in 2011, having held the last one in October last year.

MERE hours after MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong had said the movement was all for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM), the party's deputy chief Datuk Mah Hang Soon took a different stand.

Insisting there was no split but "just differences in opinion", Mah said the movement's central committee meeting, held earlier yesterday afternoon, did not discuss nor make any decision on the subject.

MCA's new deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said yesterday that the party need not hold a second extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to determine whether there should be a fresh election for office
bearers.

He said MCA had its own mechanisms to resolve disputes that arose in the party including through discussions at the party's Central Committee (CC) level.

As such, he said the CC would meet party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to advise him not to call the second EGM as it would not resolve MCA's problems.

AS opposed to their more diplomatic senior leaders, MCA Youth members were critical in their views of the party’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) last Saturday that resulted in a vote of no confidence against party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and the rejection of Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek not as deputy president.

With negative attention currently blanketing the party’s top leaders, all eyes are now focused on its Youth members. How are they absorbing the situation? Do they agree with the EGM's outcome?

PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak wants the MCA to resolve the leadership crisis before the position of MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat in the cabinet can be decided.

Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said what was important now was for the MCA to arrive at a comprehensive solution so that the problem would not recur.

 

I HAVE on occasion been asked why I opted for law school and top of my list of favourite answers has been: "...because I couldn't - still can't - do math to save my life!"

 

Truth is law to me is a smorgasbord of everything - goodbad, ups-downs, innocent-innocent... It's never been lacking in excitement. Like even those years when the EGMs and AGMs of the Bar Council could hardly meet the quorum required.