Save MCA campaign kicks off in Ipoh
Malaysiakini.com
Apr 7, 2008
Stanley Koh

A campaign by several MCA members and leaders unhappy with the   leadership kicked off in Ipoh last night, with speakers blaming president Ong Ka Ting for the party's dismal performance in the last general election. MCPX
                    
NONE“President Ka Ting has led the party for five years now and has seen the party through two general elections.

“Judging from the results, he is best remembered as the worst performing president MCA ever had,” said Ipoh Timur MCA division deputy head and former MP for Lumut Dr Yap Yit Thong at a gathering last night at a hotel in Ipoh.

Yap is also the pro-tem committee leader for the 'Saving MCA Campaign Committee' which launched its  nationwide roadshow, also in Ipoh yesterday.

NONE“When one becomes the president of MCA, there is no such thing as on-the-job training. You must perform. You must contribute. You must deliver. I cannot remember what president Ka Ting has delivered,” he said.

“But, oh yes, he (Ka Ting) has just delivered four States to the opposition - Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor,” he added.

NONEYap captured the crowd’s attention and imagination when he metaphorically described the MCA to that of a train with 40 wagons on an “electoral” journey, to a chosen destination fully determined by the president.

“Instead of taking the train (with 40 parliamentary candidates as passengers) to a beautiful destination, the president chose to take the train and passengers to a destination of hell with heavy casualties, after a stormy journey attacked by rockets (DAP), under a moon (Pas) and a staring eye (PKR)” he remarked figuratively. 

Remove Ong brothers

Putting blame on the Ong brothers’ leadership for the humiliating electoral defeat in Perak, Yap specifically pointed the finger at Perak chairperson Ong Ka Chuan for leadership weaknesses, self-serving power play and high-handedness as the major contributory factors to the disastrous political status in the state.  

ong ka ting pc 300805 ka ting and ka chuanKa Chuan, the party secretary-general, is Ka Ting's brother and has replaced him as housing and local government minister.

Yap also sent out a strong signal to party members and supporters in other parts of the country to join the campaign for reform of leadership, in the run-up to the party elections.

“The Ong dynasty leadership in the party should not be allowed to continue,” he reminded his supporters.

“We cannot give Ka Ting the opportunity to serve his last term as party president. Ka Ting likes to project himself as a kampung boy on a bicycle. What do you expect from a kampung boy on a bicycle in the 21st century?"    

In his strongest message to date, Yap said the first step to reform MCA should be for Ka Ting to step down so that MCA can survive. He also took a swipe at Ka Chuan for having caused Perak to fall into opposition hands.  

“During (former party president Dr) Ling’s (Liong Sik) tenure, potential candidates in the state were always given ample time to build their electoral support unlike Ka Chuan’s flip-flop policy in selecting candidates at the last minute,” said Yap.

For the sake of the party

He also blamed the Ong brothers for having made arbitrary decisions in choosing candidates in Perak, without close consultation with the party grassroots.

NONEYap rebutted criticism of him and his supporters, saying that those who had come out to support his campaign had not done so because they were against the party.

“They love the party and they believe that there is an urgent need to revamp the party leadership so that the party can emerge stronger and more relevant to play its future role,” he added.    

Among the other speakers were former state assemblyman Lim Choon Kim, Ipoh Timur MCA division deputy chairperson and former MP Thong Fah Chong and Head of Legal Advisors of the MCA Public Services and Complaints Department, Theng Book.

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