'Keep 'em guessing' Chua still rules

When his infamous sex scandal broke out and he was forced to resign, many thought that the final nail had been hammered onto the coffin of Dr Chua Soi Lek.

But the medical doctor-turned-politician managed to resurrect his political career and later became the president of MCA, much to the chagrin of his rivals.

Following MCA's dismal performance in the last general election, the daggers were once again unsheathed and his rivals wanted Chua’s head to roll.

However, he appears to still be in command based on the outcome of the party's divisional elections over the weekend.

Out of the 189 divisions that held their elections, the majority of the victorious division chiefs are those aligned to the president.

But Chua's men had also lost in several divisions in his homestate of Johor, indicating that his support in certain areas was waning.

Keeping his rivals and observers guessing over his future plans, Chua did not seek re-election as the head of the Batu Pahat division in Johor.

However, the former minister contested to be a central delegate, and won with a comfortable margin. This makes him eligible to defend his president post.

In an obvious reference to his deputy-turned-nemesis Liow Tiong Lai and his camp, Chua remarked on a sarcastic note: "My victory as a central delegate would leave many with sleepless nights." 

According to news reports, the MCA president also said he had not decided on whether to call on all central committee delegates to resign en bloc over the general election results.

"After the general election, many people asked me and the CC members to resign. But the problem is, some of the CC members are not central delegates.

"So if they resign as CC members, they would disappear," he added, in reference to the regulation that only CC members and central delegates could contest for party posts.

Intervention of higher powers

Meanwhile, party sources also claimed that Chua's guessing game as to whether he would defend his post had forced Liow's camp to seek the intervention of higher powers.

Speculation is rife that the rival camp had sought Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's assistance.

However, secretary-general Kong Cho Ha denied that there was a peace deal being brokered, and lamented that such reports had put the entire MCA to shame.

It is also rumoured that should Chua decide to resign, current vice-president Gan Ping Sieu might be fielded for the top post as the former’s proxy.

However, both Chua and Gan, who was aligned to Chua's predecessor Ong Tee Keat, had denied the existence of such a deal between them

In another matter, Liow, when commenting on the emergency general meeting, said although Chua had refused to use his presidential powers to call for the meeting within seven days, he was still obligated to explain the matter to party members.

Liow, who is said to be backed by veteran warlords such as former president Ong Ka Ting and ex-deputy president Chan Kong Choy, was referring to the CC's decision to rescind the three-year suspension imposed on former national organising secretary Tee Siew Kiong.

Tee was suspended for accepting the appointment as a Johor executive councillor despite the party's pledge to decline all government posts after the 13th general election.

The suspension was lifted after Tee presented new evidence to the MCA central committee to prove that he did not take the position on his own free will but on the orders of the Johor Sultan.

"We called for an EGM not to trouble anyone but to seek for answers," said Liow.