By Lee Wei Lian
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 — One moment Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun was laughing and cracking jokes and the next she was in shock after hearing that she had been removed as an appointee to the presidential council by MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.
The announcement seemed to come out of the blue as the initial mood during the central committee meeting yesterday had been fairly light and marked by cheerful table banging by the members prompted by the indication given by Ong and rivals Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek and Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai that they would try to resolve their issues.
The first sign that Ong was planning something was when he was seen suddenly furiously scribbling on his notepad. Then came the bombshell —- eight appointed presidential council members, all of whom are backing fresh party polls and seen as part of the Liow faction — that some of the members would be dropped and replaced by friendly parties.
The dropped eight comprised nearly half the council and included among them five deputy ministers — Deputy Higher Education Minister Dr Hou Kok Chung, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wira Chor Chee Heung, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, Deputy Women's Minister Chew and Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Wee Jeck Seng. This is a significant move as the presidential council is seen as a platform for the MCA leaders to prepare for Cabinet meetings.
That Ong has the right to do this, there is no doubt — he has wide discretionary powers under the party constitution to make appointments to the council as he sees fit.
Liow, however, likened it to a declaration of war and accused the president of being "corrupted" by "absolute power".
He also alleged that the president was surrounding himself with yes-men and urged MCA members to "rise" and rescue the party from Ong.
If this sounds familiar, it is because less than three months ago, similar sentiments were expressed by Dr Chua after he was suspended from MCA ostensibly for tainting the party's image via the sex DVD scandal.
Dr Chua, however, mobilised his considerable grassroots support to call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that successfully overturned his suspension.
It is too early to say if the council revamp yesterday will trigger a wave of sympathy and outrage among the party grassroots on a scale similar to that of what Dr Chua enjoyed.
Liow told reporters yesterday that he is confident of a sufficient quorum for the EGM to be valid and has been receiving "warm and strong support."
Critics say that Liow and his allies have been making many mistakes — from the refusal to compromise on their EGM resolutions in order to get the party endorsement to not putting in sufficient effort to canvass the nation to holding their EGM briefings at hotels, an expensive exercise that could hamper their fund-raising efforts.
Yesterday, the central committee voted 23 to 10 against the EGM due to alleged flaws in the proposed resolutions and the EGM notices.
They also did not do themselves any favours when they criticised Dr Chua despite his offer to play a bridging role to Ong when Liow approached him after the former allies had their falling out.
The criticisms made Dr Chua's supporters feel that they were not being accorded sufficient respect considering the three main players in the Liow faction — Chew, Wee Ka Siong and Liow himself — are considered political lightweights relative to Dr Chua.
What could also work against them are allegations that they are part of a "hidden agenda" and linked to Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy and Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting, two former leaders whose popularity have subsided in MCA.
While the Liow group is now stressing the noble concept of restoring democracy to the party, MCA politics is also a numbers game and as a splinter from the original Ong faction, their support among the grassroots cannot be compared with Dr Chua's and, barring a massive swing, is likely to stay that way.
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