The president's last tango?

In the epic Shun Tzu's 'The Art of War', the military genius had remarked that if one knows his enemy, and knows himself, then he could fight a hundred battles and emerge victorious.

I was reminded of this quote during a casual chat with MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek one afternoon last week.    

As we discussed MCA's future in the ruling coalition with Umno appearing to be more aggressive in championing Malay rights at the risk of alienating other communities, the conversation was interrupted by a text message from one of my colleagues.

My colleague, who had just returned from a press conference, requested me to prod Chua for a comment on eight MCA divisions calling for disciplinary action to be taken against him for not relinquishing his Penang port chairmanship.

When I broke the news, the president proceeded to list the said MCA divisions even before I could tell him their names.
                    
With a shrewd smile, he then remarked: "I know my enemies. I am always one step ahead of them. I have played this game far longer than any of them."

Later as I recounted this incident to one of Chua's loyalists, the latter was not surprised, explaining that his president was a master politician and a brilliant strategist.

"His rivals always make the mistake of underestimating him. He has all the information at his fingertips and when the timing is right, he strikes with a devastating blow.

"Otherwise how could he have bounced back to become president after resigning from all his positions following the sex scandal?" he said.

"They tried to kill him, but he came back and killed them all instead," he laughed, beaming with pride over his leader's political bloodbath.

'Resilient old man'

Love or loathe him, the undeniable fact is that the doctor-turned-politician is a confident man, who executes his moves with surgical precision. 
 
In 2008 after his sex scandal erupted, Chua admitted that he was the person in the DVD and resigned as the MCA vice-president, health minister and Labis MP.

His adversaries believed that the final nail had been driven into his political coffin. But the man refused to remain dead.

In 2009, Chua's supporters sparked off an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) to reinstate him. The following year, he masterminded the push for a fresh elections and defeated the then incumbent president Ong Tee Keat (above).

"This old man is resilient," said his loyalist. 

"Throw him into a well and he would crawl out and then throw the person who threw him into the well... back into the well again," was the convoluted analogy employed to describe the president’s fortitude. 

Haunted by sex scandal

When pointed out that Chua's sex scandal continued to haunt him with critics often denouncing him as an "immoral" leader, the loyalist dismissed this with a thump on the table that spilled the coffee.

"You put a hidden camera in all the hotel rooms, and half of Malaysia would have sex scandals. (Opposition Leader) Anwar (Ibrahim) also got sex scandal... same sex some more.. PAS leader also got sex scandal...," he thundered, drawing curious glances from the other patrons in the coffee house.

The loyalist pointed out that while those outside the party and his political rivals would harp on this, the MCA grassroots however had no qualms about it and Chua had an excellent relationship with them.

"In fact, they respect him for having the... what is the proper word... 'testicles'. The guts to admit and resign. Others would have denied, saying 'looks like me, sounds like me but it is not me'," he added.  

The MCA election is now around the corner and tension is escalating over MCA's decision not to accept government positions in the wake of the party’s dismal performance.

While current number two Liow Tiong Lai is eyeing the top post, Chua had said in the past that he would not be defending the title.

However, sources close to him claim that the president, who has been subjected to much criticism by his rivals, might change his mind.

"Knowing Chua... he would want to prove a point. He would want to send a message that he is still the undisputed leader and that he is capable of vanquishing his foes. Once he proves this point, he would step down," said a division leader who declined to be named.

The division leader also noted that the decision not to accept any government appointments had salvaged some dignity for the party after its electoral humiliation.

But whatever transpires in the coming party polls, the future of MCA appears bleak similar to that of other BN component parties. 

In the larger scheme of things, these have become kingdoms not worth battling over.