KUALA LUMPUR: MCA’s warring factions should have worked together in unison, quietly ironing out differences and agreeing to the approaches towards fresh elections without compromising or breaching the sanctity and supremacy of the party constitution, says MCA Central Committee (CC) member Datuk Ti Lian Ker.

He claims this did not happen, however, when some CC members "hijacked" and "disrupted" the functions of the party’s special committee by tendering an insufficient number of resignations.

The special committee had been set up by the CC, the party’s decision-making body, to work out a solution for the party to hold fresh polls.

Writing in his blog, Ti says this was tantamount to obstructing the Greater Unity Plan (GUP).

With discipline, Ti says, all the CC members could have waited for the recommendations of the special committee and submitted their resignations together to pave the way for fresh elections in the interest of the party in due time.

Last Wednesday, MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and 12 other party leaders submitted undated letters of resignation as CC members to party secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Ming in a move to enable fresh elections to be held to resolve the party's leadership crisis.

Their resignations were only to take effect if they met the requirement of two-thirds, or 21, of the 31 CC members having to resign before the elections could be held.

Besides Liow, the others who tendered their resignations include Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Wee Jeck Seng, Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Dr Hou Kok Chung, veteran CC member Datuk Wong Mook Leong and vice-president Tan Kok Hong.

Some elected ordinary CC members who also submitted their undated resignation letters are Lee Wei Kiat, Datuk Yu Chok Tow, Wong Nai Chee, Senator Datuk Yeow Chai Thiam, Datuk Hoh Khai Mun, Datuk Liew Yuen Keong, Datuk Edward Khoo Keok Hai and Senator Datuk Alex Wong Siong Hwee.

Meanwhile, the former state assemblyman for Pulau Manis in Pahang, Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz, says the Barisan Nasional (BN) should adopt a better and long-term strategy in handling the ongoing MCA crisis.

Mohd Ariff, better known as sakmongkol AK47 in the blogosphere, says the MCA must be seen as a dependable, rational and stable representative of the Chinese community.

At the very elementary level, the MCA must be allowed to carry out measures it sees as necessary, he writes in his blog.

Mohd Ariff says the MCA has the legitimate desire to be seen as the representative voice of the Chinese and it expects this self image to be appreciated and approved by others (in the BN).

Recently, Umno, the senior member of the BN coalition, has been holding talks with MCA leaders in a bid to help resolve the ongoing leadership crisis.

Political observers believe that Umno’s concern is understandable in that it wants the MCA, in particular, and the BN, in general, to be able to put their house in order quickly so as to concentrate on the crucial "bread and butter" issues facing the people instead of being embroiled in a political conflict and be left in political limbo.

They are of the opinion that BN leaders and party workers should waste no time to better explain to the people the efforts and benefits of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and the progress achieved so far under the National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) by the various government departments and agencies.