Tee Keat says ‘irrelevant’ MCA in ‘denial’

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

October 02, 2011

Ong’s blunt appraisal of MCA’s fortunes has found little favour with party colleagues. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 2 — As MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek addressed the party at its 58th annual general assembly today, his predecessor went on an all-out attack against its current leaders on Twitter.

Former MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has accused the party's top echelon of fast becoming irrelevant for not heeding the call to reform by its ethnic support base after suffering big losses in Election 2008 — winning only 15 of the 40 federal and 32 of the 90 state seats it contested.

Ong’s words have drawn the ire of MCA colleagues Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, who sought yesterday to dismiss both the remarks and their as baseless.

“Tiong Lai and Ka Siong denied MCA is irrelevant. It’s now in both irrelevance and denial syndrome,” Ong replied today in another post on Twitter while Dr Chua was speaking on stage.

“Tiong Lai’s denial of MCA’s irrelevance is nothing great if compared to his denial in d Tung Shin incident,” the Pandan MP said of his party deputy president.

The MCA maverick also took a swipe at Wee, who is the party's Youth chief, for the low turnout at his wing’s AGM yesterday.

“Wow, MCA registered 27,000 new members, but only 30 per cent delegates attended Ka Siong’s Youth AGM. Time for him to cry genuinely,” he mocked, on Twitter.

“MCA Youth delegates offended by Wee Ka Siong’s words against me said he is expecting favour from Soi Lek,” Ong added.

Ong was nowhere to be seen at the Dewan San Choon in the MCA headquarters here during Dr Chua's presidential address.

The former transport minister told The Malaysian Insider in an interview last week that the Barisan Nasional (BN) component has not heeded the push for reform that saw the party lose 25 of the 40 federal and 59 of the 90 state seats it contested in Election 2008.

“MCA is still stuck in the mindset of being gungho with statements instead of delivering good governance. It is parroting old polemic rather than delivering reforms asked for by voters,” Ong said.

“If MCA continues on this same old path and psyche, then it is certainly headed for irrelevance. Some have bluntly said we are already irrelevant,” he added.

Ong, who was deposed as MCA boss by Dr Chua in a fractious power struggle 18 months ago, has admitted his failure to convince the party to change its mindset during his short-lived term in office.

But he took pride in being responsible for opening investigations into the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone scandal even though senior officers told him it was a closed case.