By Lee Wei Lian
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 — Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai declined Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s “offer” to step aside and let him take over as MCA deputy president because “it is not his to give”.
The two men involved in a tussle over the MCA deputy presidency continued to trade barbs this week with Liow maintaining today that Dr Chua should heed the decision of a recent EGM and step down.
Liow also wrote to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) on Monday to explain his side of the story but has yet to receive a reply.
Yesterday, Dr Chua, who was declared the rightful deputy by the RoS, accused Liow of "flip flopping" over whether he wanted to be president or deputy president and offered to step aside if Liow says he wants to be deputy.
Liow today declined to take up Dr Chua's offer and said that the deputy president's post did not belong to an individual but belonged to the party and so it was not Dr Chua's to give.
"The position belongs to a party and not any individual. Dr Chua should respect the results of the Oct 10 EGM and surrender the deputy president post unconditionally and go for fresh elections," said Liow at a press conference before briefing Johor delegates on an upcoming EGM.
The Oct 10 EGM saw Dr Chua's suspension overturned by the MCA general assembly but his bid to be reinstated as deputy rejected by a simple majority.
Dr Chua however wrote to the RoS seeking clarification on whether he was still deputy president based on the party constitution which states that office bearers can only be removed with a two-thirds majority of the delegates.
The RoS initially said it would not intervene in the MCA leadership tussle but later issued a letter stating that the deputy president's post was not vacated by Dr Chua.
The RoS letter was accepted by the MCA central committee and Dr Chua was reinstated while Liow was demoted.
Liow and his supporters meanwhile have called for an EGM on Nov 28 to push for fresh party elections.
When asked about preparations for the EGM, Liow said it was "going well and gaining momentum".
He also disclosed that a fund-raising campaign for the EGM had collected RM15,622 after two days.
Another RM4,307 was collected at today's meeting, organised by the party’s Pontian and Tanjung Piai divisions.
When asked about today's briefing to the estimated 300 Johor MCA members at the MCA headquarters, Liow said the meeting was about the MCA members from Johor giving "moral encouragement" to the organisers of the EGM.
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