How will Chua Soi Lek be remembered?

Though Chua is a confident and capable leader, his performance is often overshadowed by his tainted past, say analysts.

PETALING JAYA: MCA president Chua Soi Lek is officially bringing down the curtains on his 20-odd years colourful  political career. Last week he reiterated his stand that he would not contest in the coming party polls.

Critics and appraisers from the public will best remember him for his sex video that caught him in the act with a woman in a hotel room.

The explicit act was filmed in VCD format and was widely circulated by his rivals in MCA in 2008; which resulted in Chua being forced to resign as the health minister then.

During his term as party president, MCA being a Barisan Nasional  (BN) component saw itself crushed in the GE13, with none of its four vice presidents surviving the election.

Above that the party’s morale sank to the lowest point and there were even calls to the party to close shop from a segment of the public for their dismal performance.

Is this how Chua will be remembered upon his exit from the front lines of Malaysian politics?

Independent political analyst Tang Ah Chai said while Chua is a confident and capable leader, his performance is often overshadowed by his tainted past.

In citing  Chua’s remark on Wednesday that Umno has no powers to interfere with MCA’s affairs, Tang said Chua’s straightforwardness was strikingly different in comparison to his predecessors.

“He dares to criticise Umno in public, unlike his predecessors who used to negotiate behind closed door, and the outcome of the negotiation was normally not known.

“When Lim Ah Lek was quoted in a newspaper saying Najib wanted a new MCA leader, Chua went straight to Najib to verify this.

“For many people, Chua’s English-education background and his straightforwardness have made him a unique leader,” said the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall chief executive officer.

Chua fails to address real issues

However, Tang said Chua’s aggression failed to translate into votes because the former Labis MP and his party did not live up to the Chinese’s aspiration.

He said although MCA has done much to solve bread and butter issues, they failed to respond to the community’s rising demand for fairer and more equitable government policies.

“For examples the issues of (rare earth plant) Lynas, Bukit Koman gold mining and Pengerang petrochemical plant, MCA opines that these are okay as long as there is proper monitoring,

“But the Chinese community view these as potential time-bombs built near their homes,” he said.

Chua had once said that Lynas is a local issue, thus it does not deserve national attention while commenting on a mass rally against Lynas in Kuantan.

Nevertheless, Tang said that in all fairness to Chua, it must also be acknowledged that the gap between MCA and the Chinese community did not just occur during his era as the party leader. Indeed it has been simmering over the years.

“It erupted into a mass rejection of MCA during his time, so it gives people an impression that Chua is useless, that he can’t do anything at all,” he said.

Chua’s “no cabinet post” dilemma

Agreeing with Tang, Penang-based political analyst Cheah See Kian said neither MCA nor Chua learned a lesson from the 12th General Election, when MCA first suffered its heavy losses.

“They still use the same old mentality in doing things and dare not to change. Worse, they plunged into in-fighting again after the 2008 polls.

“If you fail to change, you are inviting people to change you,” said the former editor-in-chief of the now defunct Sin Pin Daily.

Cheah said although Chua staged a rare comeback in politics after resigning all posts in 2008, he faced more criticism on his tainted past than his performance.

“For that it was a thankless job for him to lead MCA,” he said.

He also pointed out that Chua left behind a “no cabinet post” dilemma to the party, which until today has not been solved by any of the MCA leaders.

Chua mooted and advocated the passage of a motion for MCA members to decline all government posts should MCA fare worse in the general election, resulting in the ruling component party’s awkward position today.

The recent extraordinary general meeting (EGM) saw the party delegates reaffirming the motion and MCA’s return to federal cabinet seems more uncertain.

Cheah said Chua might be able to leave behind a legacy should the peace deal he proposed for party elections takes effect.

“If that happens, MCA could be kept from intense fighting and this would create more stability to the new leadership,” he said.

The peace deal was agreed between Chua and his estranged deputy Liow Tiong Lai, for factions would only contest limited number of high-rank positions in hope that the new leadership would accommodate different voices.