Managing an expanding Rocket

nThe growth in membership and branches of the Democratic Action Party (DAP) since the breakthru 12th general election in 2008 creates a new challenge to the party especially for its leaders in Pakatan Rakyat ruled states particularly in Selangor and Penang.

For a party whose membership some 30 years ago was just more than two thousand, the current monumental growth in membership is surely a situation which many veteran  DAP leaders can never imagined. Previously with small membership it is easier to manage the party in terms of secretariat affairs and branches coordination. Fast forward to year 2010 when the membership and branches had rocketed to such numbers which is unseen in DAP's history. The party HQ  and some state secretariats workload must have increased tremendously in processing and managing the new membership and branches applications. While DAP works towards a progressive and people friendly policy development in the state and federal governments, the party is now faced with the challenge to further enhanced its office management and coordination at all levels of party hierarchy.

In Selangor itself, the branches had mutiplied from 40 branches before the March 2008 general election to the 145 branches which are sending delegates to the DAP Selangor State Convention this weekend. On top of that, at least 50 new branches are still awaiting registration by the Registrar of Societies. Assuming averagely there are at least 60 members in each branch, there are now at least 12,000 members just in Selangor. Just like any other organisations, managing an expanded membership list requires more manpower,  financial resources, better office management system and organisational skills.

Lau Weng San, Selangor DAP Secretary and Kg Tunku ADUN shoulders huge challenge 

in preparing for the 1k plus delegates attending the Selangor state convention.

With the setting up of new branches, more delegates will also be attending state conventions as each branch are entitled to send seven delegates. As such, this means larger venues are required to accommodate the enlarged delegates attending state conventions. Larger venues and more delegates translated to higher cost to organise the conventions. Sooner or later DAP will need to review its constitution in relation to the number of delegates entitlement for each branches to attend the state and national conventions as overwhelming delegates will be too heavy a task for the state secretary and a costly affair too.

For instance, what will be the scenario if in the future there are 500 branches in Selangor? That will be translated to 3,500 voting delegates! If each member took 10 seconds to select 15 out of 50 candidates and finally drop it into the ballot box, that will consumed slightly more than nine hours just to cast the votes! For the Selangor state convention this weekend, will 2.5 hours be enough for the whole election process to be over? That's assuming every delegates already decided and know who and where to mark the 15 candidates of their choice from the list of 50 names in multiple pages. If Lau Weng San is still the state secretary by then he will really need more assistants and full time secretariat members to manage the secretariat and organised the state conventions.

Assumed in the near future DAP as part of Pakatan Rakyat already takes over the Federal government  and its membership surged to 2,000 branches with at least 60 members in every branch. During the DAP triennial congress which elects 20 national leaders, every branch will be entitled to send 4 delegates and the total delegates will be 8,000! DAP by then will need to convene its congress at the Putra Stadium in Bukit Jalil and a whole day for all to cast the votes! If that's the case, PKR might need to book all the available stadiums in the country just for their divisions direct election!

On another note, while it is indeed a good thing for DAP to be able to attract more people to sign up as members, it need to ensure these new members understands and accept the party's ideology and direction for the nation. It will be detrimental not only to the party but also the prospect of managing the country with a greater hope if newly enlisted members brings in certain political culture and approaches which the rakyat has been detesting all these years. It will be such a pity if any branches, new or old, existed all in name but only for the purpose of sending delegates to cast votes during state or national elections. For a political party to be relevant to the man in the street, local branch leaders are the frontline agents of change and need to engage the grassroots and the constituents continuously. This can be achieved by having community programs with the residents and to increase the citizens political awareness and participation especially in the democratic electoral process.

For all the candidates who offered themselves for the thousand plus delegates to elect them as state committee members, they need to think deeper than just a political position and government appointments but how to manage a growing party in terms of memberships, branches and also possibly larger financial resources. As state government leaders, there are many salaried civil servants providing the backbone and administrative support. But for a political party these resources are limited and may be too costly to even think about it.

For a party which is consolidating its power based in the state and strengthening its machinery, it will need more than mere slogans and fiery speeches but the capability to provide examplary leadership and good organisational and administrative skills for the party.  Not just the know how to lead but to manage the party well too. - Loka

Note: The blogger had organised many conventions and annual general meetings for NGOs, locally and internationally for the past 20 years and are aware of the needs and challenges faced to ensure the respective events proceed smoothly, especially during election year. Anyway, the blogger might have attended the opening ceremonies but had never organised any conventions for any political parties so far.

Cukuplah Najib, Muhyiddin

Kalaulah berlaku masalah teknikal semasa percetakan, mesin cetak  mula boleh berfikir, artikel mungkin menjadi seperti berikut.

Cukuplah Tee Keat Najib, Soi Lek Muhyiddin... — PAwang Tak Selamat

Sampai bila kemelut sandiwara kepimpinan MCA UMNO akan berlarutan bertahan? Itulah persoalan yang berlegar di kalangan orang ramai terutama ahli-ahli parti itu.

PAwang setuju dengan penegasan Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN) Gua Musang Mohd. Najib Tun Razak Razaleigh Hamzah bahawa MCA UMNO perlu selesaikan segera krisis dalamannya royalti minyak demi mengukuhkan kedudukan BN. Jika tidak diselesaikan, ia hanya merugikan MCA UMNO selain membuang masa dan tenaga kepada hal yang tidak wajar. Tumpuan sepatutnya diberikan kepada tugas-tugas parti untuk menolong rakyat.

PAwang tidak berminat mengulas panjang. Sudah banyak analisis tentang MCA UMNO ditulis tetapi realitinya kemelut parti royalti minyak itu semakin buruk. Pelan damai Perjanjian tidak dihormati, formula alasan  demi formula alasan gagal dan penyelesaiannya entah ke mana. Terbaru, ada beberapa bahagian rancangan mencadangkan bekas Presiden MCA MB Johor, Ong Ka Ting Muhyiddin bertanding jawatan Presiden MCA UMNO pada pemilihan baru hujung bulan ini  akan datang. Ia cadangan menarik tetapi PAwang tidak fikir ia akan membantu UMNO.

Dalam kita menyerahkan kepada MCA UMNO untuk menyelesaikan sendiri kemelut meneruskan sandiwara mereka , ia tidak bermakna kita harus mengunci mulut. PAwang percaya isu tersebut tidak juga boleh selesai jika Presidennya, Ong Tee Keat Najib berundur. Begitu juga dengan Timbalan Presiden, Chua Soi Lek Muhyiddin. Membenarkan Tee Keat Muhyiddin yang dibelenggu isu kewibawaan dan Soi Lek Najib dengan isu moralnya - terus berada dalam kepimpinan - hanya merisikokan lagi MCA UMNO dan BN.

PAwang percaya MCA UMNO tidak ketandusan pemimpin. Kalangan pemimpin pelapis boleh dijadikan sandaran. Tinggal lagi semua pihak harus berani mengambil langkah besar. Tee Keat Najib dan Soi Lek Muhyiddin terlebih dahulu harus merasa malu bertaubat. Janganlah gadaikan parti untuk ego dan kepentingan sendiri. Prestasi MCA UMNO pada pilihan raya umum lalu sudahlah buruk bukannya sebaik mana, bagaimana mahu bangkit menyakinkan membangunkan rakyat jika para pemimpinnya masih mementingkan soal jawatan. Bosan PAwang. - Cetusan Malaysia

Nightmare at MCA Street

Even before any of the candidates can celebrate their success in being elected the new MCA president, the first round of nightmare is awaiting in Perlis. The MCA assemblyman for Titi Tinggi Yip Sun Onn already submitted his resignation as the elected representative. Another by-election and this will be the first involving an MCA seat.

Amongst the 25% Chinese electorates in the constituency, it will be a referendum on the new (old/recycle) president. If MCA secures majority of the Chinese votes and retains the seat, supporters of the newly elected president will be going around town declaring the Chinese community is back with the MCA/BN. But if the Chinese votes went to PKR or PAS, it will further de-moralised its members and further weakened MCA's bargaining chips with her big brother Umno.

Will this be the beginning of a domino effect especially after the outcome of the March 28 party election. Defections, quitting the party and declaring themselves independents is not a remote possibility. Maybe Labis, if the father lost the race or Pandan itself quits to be an independent if thrashed and felt betrayed? Or maybe Kulai wants to head the Parti Cinta Malaysia? But then there is the RM2 billion party assets to consider. Nope. After considering the amount of dough involved, it won't be happening. Just wishful thinking.

One thing for sure, Ong Tee Keat will have a lot of answering to do especially to the delegates since the assemblyman resigns during his watch. Maybe this is part of the scheme to ensure he will not retain his presidency. What a price to pay for the coveted presidency! Resigning at this critical period shows Yip Sun Onn is just part of the pawn in this political game in MCA.

What would they think of next in a week? Threaten subtlely to quit enbloc if their leaders and team mates are not elected? Or maybe another Made in MCA DVD? - Loka

MCA's Triple Cai Tan

The dinner date has been set. The venue has been booked. All the guests already received their invitation. The big question is what dishes are they going to eat as the guests has been served with three types of menu. Are they going to choose from only one set, mixture of two or even ala carte choices from three menus? The guests will be spoilt for choice.

Even though there are claims by some that there are no such thing as different teams, the candidates list for the MCA election on March 28 can be pooled into three teams namely Ong Tee Keat's, Chua Soi Lek's and Ong Ka Ting's a.k.a Liow Tiong Lai's. Campaigners are expected to woo the delegates to vote along the cai tan (menu) or preferred candidates by each faction.  The cai tan are can be listed all the way to the election of central committee members. Each faction had submitted their candidates to contest in every vacancy except the deputy president position, which Ong Tee Keat faction did not managed to offer any candidate.

 

The respective faction's probable Cai Tan:

                            Ong Tee Keat's     Chua Soi Lek's                  Ong Ka Ting's

President             Ong Tee Keat         Chua Soi Lek                     Ong Ka Ting

Deputy                none                        Kong Cho Ha                    Liow Tiong Lai

Vice president     Loke Yuen Yow      Dr Ng Yen Yen                 Chor Chee Heung

                           Gan Ping Sieu          Edward Khoo Keok Hai    Yew Teong Look

                           Yap Pian Hon          Donald Lim Siang Chai       Alex Wong Siong Hwee

                           ( Dr Ng Yen Yen )   Dr Yeow Chai Thiam         ( Dr Ng Yen Yen )

As for the central committee committee members, each faction has nominated at least 25 candidates with some "outsiders" who are not alligned with any of the factions jumping in to try their luck.

 

What will be the choice menu of the 2,378 delegates on March 28?

 

In the absence of last minute horse trading, counter offers, withdrawals, back stabbing and betrayals, the choice for the presidency will be a neck to neck race. Kong Cho Ha is widely expected to obtain support from Tee Keat's faction to win the deputy president post unless both Tee Keat and Ka Ting's comes to an understanding to distribute the deputy and vice presidents posts amongst themselves. If that happens, some of their own will be sacrificed.  It can be 1 DP+1VP for Ka Ting's faction and 3 VPs for Tee Keat's group

For the four vice presidents, those who are members of parliament and holding government appointments will have the advantage. These includes Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen and deputy Finance Minister Chor Chee Heung. Looking at it, the sure winner will be the shrewd Ng Yen Yen, the only female candidate for vice president. Her name will be on each faction's menu, even though she is known to be rooting for Chua Soi Lek.

 

The delegates criteria to elect the central committee will also give priority to candidates who are either members of Parliament or State assemblymen. The central delegates would not want to take the risk of these candidates jumping to other parties if they loses. Electing them will ensure these candidates will stay within MCA as the numbers of MCA elected representatives are already so depleted and they cannot afford to loose any of them further.

 

Geographical consideration will be another matter to look into. The delegates will need to ensure all the relevant states are representated. That is the reason why some unexpected candidates won because of territorial quota. Some will win even though they are considered losers because every delegates thought they will not win but ends up receiving enough votes to win because they are regarded as "rubbish bin". Votes are given to them not because the delegates supports them but the delegates do not want to vote others.

It will be day dreaming if anyone expects the problems in MCA to be solved with this by-election. It will be only a starter to another bigger dinner, err....I mean election. MCA will be facing another election in 2011 and the battle amongst the Three Factions will be spread out from branch level to the national election. It will be more crucial. Unless of course if the general election are held before the next MCA election as the imcumbent president will only nominate his own men as candidates and exterminate his rivals. Without any elected office or ministerial appointments, it will be tough to challenge the imcumbents by then.

That is if the MCA candidates can win in the next election. If they are wipe out or perform worse than 2008, the party will be in shambles and its relevancy to Malaysian politics will be further eroded.

Pot bellied delegates

MCA president Ong Tee Keat was in my area twice in less than a month.  Another MCA leader Liow Tiong Lai, was also there but he left immediately after Tee Keat arrives. Both just have a quick hand shake and parted immediately. Their relationship has turned from sweet to sour within months. Now it is actually tasteless. 

Yesterday noon, Tee Keat was at the MCA Kelana Jaya Division again. This time it is for a very serious business, that is to launch his campaign to defend his presidency. For him to pick this division as his launching pad for his campaign says a lot about his influence in MCA Selangor. Not because of the wide support he has, but the lacked of it.

Need to remember that the former Kelana Jaya division chairman is non other Lee Hwa Beng, the current Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairman. While Lee was reappointed as PKA chairman by Ong, Hwa Beng was actually kicked out in 2008 as the division chairman by his own strong supporters include the current chairman Ong Chong Swen.

Selangor has one of the largest central delegates but Tee Keat does not have the largest cut. Former vice president Lim Siang Chai is still influential in some of the divisions while Wanita head Chew Mei Fun still has certain influence via the ladies wings. Other than Pandan, maybe Kelana Jaya provides a more secure platform for him to launch his campaign. Other divisions might not be that friendly.

With the entry of Ong Ka Ting into the presidential fray, the central delegates will be further split into smaller numbers for each factions. The well coordinated charade to bring in Ka Ting to fight for his former post must have surprised Tee Keat and rattle presidential wannabe Chua Soi Lek. By now both their strategists would be busy re-drawing their campaign strategies and reviewing alliances.

All the three factions will be hitting the road everyday until election eve, meeting central delegates or striking new deals amongst themselves. It will be a stressful and breathless two weeks. At any day, the election hopefuls especially the presidential candidates can be in at least three states within a day. It is amazing to see how their aides coordinates their bosses travel and transportation arrangements. And by the time the election is over, after counting the votes they received they will most probably counting the speeding tickets they get from the police or JPJ!

As for the central delegates they will be the kings of the month of March! They will get personal calls and SMS'es from ministers, deputy ministers and big businessmen and influential Chinese community leaders who are alligned with certain candidates. Many of the delegates will not be buying lunch or dinners for at least these two weeks, not because they can't afford it but they will be feted in posh restaurants or hotels by the candidates. By end of March many of these delegates will be gaining extra inches around their waist.

No wonder a tailor recently advised me to order more extra extra large sizes for the shirts that we ordered for our organisation. Her justification was that most people who are involved in Chinese based organisations are usually big size and pot bellied! But later we found out those XXL sizes do not have many takers. Maybe we are not delegates!- Loka

DAP strengthened grip on Subang Jaya

Two years following the grand entry of a new assemblyman for Subang Jaya, the DAP finally had a major function to meet up with the local residents. March 12 was a special night for those residing and voting in Subang Jaya because a breakthrough event took place that night.

Ean Yong Hian Wah, Selangor State Chairman and Tunku Abdul Aziz, National Vice Chairman

Teresa Kok, DAP National Organising Secretary and Senior Selangor State Exco brief the audience on the historical background of the Taman Subang Ria controversy.

  

   

Part of the dinner crowd, listening to updates from DAP elected representatives while enjoying a good meal.

 People who are unable to get a seat in the hall listens to Gobind Singh via a link-up telecast.

 About 1200 supporters gathered at a local shopping mall to witness and support a historic occasion which happens due to the decision made two years ago i.e. March 8, 2008. The people of Subang Jaya then voted for change and changed they did. The people of Subang Jaya had then elected a very dedicated and courageous young lady to serve the people.

Hannah Yeoh, the Subang Jaya assemblywoman was the toast of the crowd for her speech and two years report card. Her "report card" touches on many issues of concerned to the people of Subang Jaya, including education,  unity, infrastructure, environmental, healthy lifestyle and so on.

For the first time in Subang Jaya history the Democratic Action Party had a memorable Chinese New Year gathering which were graced by leaders of the DAP including its icon Lim Kit Siang, Tunku Abdul Aziz, Teresa Kok, Gobind Singh, Ean Yong Hian Wah and Adun for Subang Jaya Hannah Yeoh.

Kit Siang who was the final speaker of the night, spoke on many issues affecting Malaysians including the GST, NEM, GTP and Malaysian Malaysia.

The speakers lineup for the night.

After winning the state constituency of Subang Jaya for the first time in 2008, DAP are expected to further strengthen its grip on the state seat with the recent registration of a new branch and establishment of another pro-tem committee for another branch in USJ. While the first branch mostly managed by members below 35, the less than three months old branch pro-tem committee in USJ East are led by a group of grass-root supporters who are mostly in the 40s and above.

  

The team from the DAP USJ East branch with YB Hannah and YB Gobind Singh

The on-the-street experience and networking of these new branch members can be noticed when they managed to organised a major fundraising event within two months which surprises many, even those in the party's state leadership. The team that form the pro-tem committee and organizes the dinner are just ordinary guys next door who had the courage  to be directly involved in a political party for the first time in their life and to fly the flag of democracy through the DAP. - Loka

MCA Bian Lian Pte Ltd

The master was able to change his face within less than a second. He did it with such slick movement that the audiences watching the opera clapped with awed and astounding excitement. With modern day acoustics, the performance became even more dramatic and entertaining. The audience just do not know and comprehend what face the performer going to change into next.

Well, that was the art of China's Szechuan Face Changing or bian lian ( 變臉) in Chinese. This art began in China 300 years ago. Performers can changed their face into different look to depict characters in Chinese opera shows. It has been very popular in the local scene especially during cultural performace or dinners attended by the Chinese community.

But for those who did not have the opportunity to watch the Szechuan bian lian so far, they can count themselves lucky as Malaysia has their very own version of bian lian which are performed widely throughout the country and to the whole world too. And it is for free. These performances are presented by a local troupe who endeared themselves as MCA Bian Lian Pte. Ltd.

Frankly, I used to follow closely on these performance with "interest" because I personally knows some of the top performers and used to give moral and spiritual support to some of them. But now, I think like many who has been concern about the standard and quality of the troupe, we just don't care anymore. These performers  face changing skills are so expected that people do not bothered with what appearance they are changing into next. Except maybe the performers themselves!

People are no more excited and concerned whether this MCA Bian Lian troupe is going to close down or even taken over by corporate raiders and run by outsiders who are least concern with the survival, dignity and importance of the Chinese bian lian.

I think it's better for me to stick to the professioanlly tested and consistent Szechuan bian lian. At least I know they are putting up a show to earn a honest living for real. - Loka

DAP breakthru dinner in Subang Jaya

At last, the assemblyman in my area Hannah Yeoh, managed to secure a venue to hold a DAP dinner in Subang Jaya after all. The latest from her blog reveals that a number of DAP big guns including Lim Kit Siang, Tunku Abdul Aziz, Teresa Kok etc. will be converging to Subang Jaya on 12 March 2010 to attend the dinner to be held at the Summit Shopping Mall.

As far as I know, this will be the first time DAP having a major dinner function with the people in Subang Jaya. The dinner which is organised by a new DAP branch in USJ was initially planned to be held at the SJK (C) Chee Wen school hall. The application to rent the hall was withdrawn few days later even after a deposit been paid. Seige mentality and deluded mind cause the school to loose out some much needed income to pay back close to RM2 million debt still owed to the contractor.

What will be the implication to the school image and Chinese education if the contractor obtained a court order to seal the school hall if the debt still unpaid after many letters of demand?

So, SJK (C)  Chee Wen Board of Governors especially those responsible for the school hall management, what say you? - Loka

Anwar is to blame

With the departure of MP for Bayan Baru Zahrain Hashim from Parti Keadilan Rakyat two weeks ago, it added another round of woes to PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim who is facing second round court case on sodomy charges.

It will not be surprising if one or more of PKR's MPs decided to walk out from the party that seems facing unending problems in maintaining discipline  and loyalty amongst its elected representatives. Anwar himself already admitted his mistakes in selecting the wrong candidates for the last general election. Well, at that time he don't have much choice isn't it?

PKR's membership can be pooled into three main baskets. The first group are those who jumped ship from another party particularly from Umno. The initial batch of Umno members who switched allegiance to PKR are mostly those with third level of hierarchy in Umno, except maybe for Anwar himself, Azmin Ali, Ezam Nor (who left earlier) and a couple of others. There were so many positions for grab and opportunity to stood as election candidates which will remain a dream if they are still in Umno.

The second group are those who are Anwar-infatuated people like those involved in Abim (Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia), namely Mustaffa Kamil Ayub and Mohd Nur Manuty. The third group are those who were involved in "reformasi" and NGOs like Tian Chua, Elizabeth Wong, Sivarasiah, Irene Fernandez etc. Later, after the "merging" with Parti Rakyat Malaysia, a small group of people led by Syed Husin Ali were absorbed into the party.

It is clear that Anwar is having a lot of headaches with those who were formerly with another political party. Current problematic PKR elected representatives who are formerly from Umno includes Kulim Bandar Bharu MP Zulkifli Noordin, Zahrain Hashim and Indera Mahkota MP Azan Ismail. Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong who claims a Selangor state exco from DAP was involved with the mafia was the founding Secretary General of the mosquito party Malaysian Democratic Party after his fallout with DAP and Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng was formerly with Gerakan.

Not forgetting the duo that partly caused the fall of Pakatan Rakyat's Perak state government Jamaluddin Radzi (Adun Behrang) and Osman Jailu ( Adun Changkat Jering) and also Port Klang assemblyman Badrul Hisham who quits PKR to become BN friendly independents, whatever it means!

It seems like these people could not forget their old flames which they had cohabited for so many years even after tying the knot with a new partner. As people says, they can have a new party but their heart is still with the former party. There will be more test cases to see if political frogs can be depended on their loyalty and commitment to their new party. Those on the watch list includes former MCA vice president Chua Jui Meng and wanita deputy head Dr Tan Yee Kew. We will see where their heart lies when PKR selects the next election candidates.

Anwar is right in putting the blame on himself for selecting these political frogs and frogs-to-be. Another thing which he has not openly apologised was his haste and dream to becomes the PM by encouraging political betrayal of BN MPs so that he can secure enough seats to take over Putrajaya. While he was scheming this, he was blinded by the dream for power and blinked while his enemy BN took the opportunity to snatch Perak under his nose and created continuous problems for his PR governments in Selangor and Penang. - Loka

New Chinese-based Party

Are we looking at the birth of another political party to look after the Chinese interest?

Since majority of the Chinese are already disillusioned with the MCA, the Chinese community will be looking for an alternative new party to look after their interest. Is that what Umno telling MCA's president Ong Tee Keat that MCA is dispensable and can be replaced and forsaken anytime if Tee Keat do not toe the BN, err.....Umno line.

Even though Umno leaders are emphasizing the importance of MCA's unity and stability in the interest of Barisan Nasional, the reality is more on the hidden but well known agenda of Umno's ability to shadow MCA's leadership than anything else. Have we ever heard of any comments from other BN component leaders on the current MCA leadership struggle. None actually. Or maybe just from the chap who is embroiled in the PKFZ fiasco.

It will not be surprising to all if a new Chinese based party is established and given an instant birth certificate of registration after this November 28. Nov 28 is the day when the Liow Tiong Lai's faction called for the 2nd EGM. If the 2nd EGM fails to materialised due to lack of support from the delegates, it spells doomed for Liow and his supporters. Unless of course if Ong Tee Keat is forced to eat humble pie during the meeting called by Najib before Nov 28 and given the ultimatum to give up or get out.

The newly set up Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party was launched by Najib in October this year which clearly gave signal to Samy Vellu's MIC that his party is not indispensable from BN.

But Umno is barking at the wrong tree when it says the Chinese will not support the BN due to MCA's infighting. The reality is that the Chinese voters rejected BN not because of MCA's weaknesses as the main cause but more to the unfair policies, bullying and arrogant attitude of Umno. This was clearly the message in last year's general election when the DAP called upon the Chinese community to teach Umno a lesson by voting out MCA's candidates whom mostly stood in Chinese majority seats or seats with substantial Chinese votes. It is near impossible for the Chinese to vote out any Umno candidates as their candidates always stood in Malay majority seats.

In last year's election, Umno loses in some of their traditional strong hold seats due to the swing of the Malay electorates to PAS or PKR candidates. If Umno thinks that it can represents the Chinese community directly by sidelining the MCA, will Najib takes the challenge to stand in Seputeh against Teresa Kok and Umno deputy president Muhyddin Yassin challenges Lim Kit Siang in Ipoh Timur. If they wins, that will surely proves their support and worth amongst the Chinese community. - Loka

The MCA turncoat turncoats

Rising, rising, rising. Falling, falling, falling. Rising. Falling. Rising. Falling.

When Liow Tiong Lai wakes up this morning after a long night with his supporters he would realised that he is no more the deputy president but just one of MCA's six vice presidents.

Liow Tiong Lai must be so far the shortest serving deputy president of MCA. Nineteen days to be exact.The day he was elected by the MCA Central Committee on Oct 15 to Nov 3, 2009 when he was unceremoniously unseated by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) through a letter delivered to MCA headquarters which decided that Dr. Chua Soi Lek is still the deputy president.

Liow who has been hoping Ong Tee Keat will quit as MCA president after the 10 Oct EGM did not expect this sudden "demotion" in less than three weeks. If Tee Keat had quitted, Liow would have secured the presidency on a silver platter without going through a proper election by delegates in an AGM.

Even though Liow reserves his right to challenge the ROS decision, it is doubtful he will succeed as ROS based its decision to re-instate Chua Soi Lek on the MCA constitution. The only chance for Liow to get back the deputy president position, which never his anyway, is to contest for it in the next party election. That will be two years from now if his groups fails to call for an EGM to adopt a resolution to re-elect a new central committee.

It will not be surprising if Liow himself  will be tasting the same medicine he prescribed to Ong Tee Keat recently when his so-called comrades within his own group will be turning against him soon.  Who will be the turncoat turncoats? It is all man for himself. Those expected to abandon ship will be those with government positions who are at great risk of being dropped in the next Cabinet reshuffle if they are not in Tee Keat-Soi Lek's team.

Those at risks includes Deputy Minister of Finance Chor Chee Heung, Deputy Minister of Higher Education Hou Kok Chung and Youth and Sports Deputy Minister Wee Jeck Seng. If these three are sacked, their replacements will be selected from amongst CC members from Tee Keat-Soi Lek's team which includes just appointed CC member Labis MP Chua Tee Yong, former deputy finance minister Loke Yuen Yow, former deputy information minister Donald Lim, former Kelana Jaya MP Loh Seng Kok and former Indera Mahkota assemblyman Ti Lian Ker. This will reflect on the greater unity plan which give priorities to accommodate Chua Soi Leks's supporters. Those who are not MPs' will be appointed as a senator which quota for MCA is still available.

Those in Liow's team like Liow himself, Youth Chief Wee Ka Siong and Wanita Chief Chew Mei Fun are expected to keep their cabinet positions due to their senior party positions. But Liow is expected to be relieved of his duty as Penang state committee chief and Wee dropped as Malacca's state chief. Ong Tee Keat himself is expected to resumed his control over Selangor which current chairman Wong Foon Meng who is also MCA Secretary General has not been able to lord over the big players in Selangor. As widely speculated, Chua Soi Lek is expected to be returned his crown  in the Johore State Committee.

MCA Wanita's Secretary General and deputy Information and Culture Minister Heng Saik Kie was rewarded for her unwavering support for Ong Tee Keat throughout the crisis. Heng was appointed as the Information Bureau Chief replacing Liow's man Lee Wei Kiat. Heng's sudden ascendency to a senior post in the CC will be a challenge to Wanita chief Chew Mei Fun. Will a desperate Chew try to clip Heng's wings by removing her as Wanita's secretary general and turn the women wing topsy-turvy?

Ong Tee Keat's sword is already drawn and some heads are already on the ground and many more are expected to be on the chopping board in a couple of days. Once the new list of cabinet members are unveiled in the expected cabinet reshuffle after the  review of each minister's KPI this month, Ong Tee Keat will know by then how far is Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak going to back him up for a stronger and united MCA.- Loka

Tee Keat- fight one last round

In the event of any war, there will be those that will suffer the agony of defeat and those who basked in the glory of success. In between them there will be those who will reap the spoils of war. In the history of mankind, war always affects those who are part of it and those innocents who are sacrificed as collateral damage. Some experienced the worst of all and lost everything they had while some will grabbed the opportunity to secure the benefits that would have eluded them if there is no war.

With the widely expected resignation of Ong Tee Keat as MCA's president and the already vacant deputy president position, a floodgate is now opened for all ambitious members of MCA to grab the spoils of the recent EGM.

How wide the floodgate of opportunities will depends on the following scenario.

1. The Central Committee resigns en masse and calls for new election.

This may be the most remote of all possibilities as the risks are too high to be taken especially for those that are alligned or friendly to Ong Tee Keat. This move will be most welcome by Chua Soi Lek and his cohorts as it will be an opportunity to pave the way for him and his people to take a shot to control the party leadership. If it happens, expects an all out fight between the two feuding factions and participation of the third force which so far have not shown the hidden hand behind it. Some old faces and old horses are expected to jump into the band wagon and fight another round for political supremacy.

Who knows Chua Soi Lek might just try his luck and give a shot for the presidency since he knows very well he had at least half of the delegates firmly in his hand who don't mind his sexual indiscretion. With a little bit of manouvering, he might just convinced another 50 third force fence sitters to vote for him. If that happens, his sexual indiscretion will be Najib's problem,  not MCA's nor the Chinese community since only Najib can decide whether to accept an adulterous component leader sitting with him in the Cabinet.

2. Ong Tee Keat resigns and his appointees follow suits.

The president has the right to appoint a number of members in the central committee includes the Secretary General, Treasurer General, Organising Secretary and eight committee members. When he resigns, those appointed by him are obliged to follow suit which will create a long list of vacancies. Assuming two vice presidents, namely Kong Cho Ha and Liow Tiong Lai took over the top two posts, two vacancies will be available in the vice president position.

This situation is similiar to the situation in 2003 when Ling Liong Sik of Team A and Lim Ah Lek of Team B resigns simultaneously as president and deputy president in a peace plan between Team A and Team B. Their vacated positions were filled by then vice presidents Ong Ka Ting and Chan Kong Choy who is from Team A and Team B respectively. The two vacated vice president positions were given to Tan Chai Ho (Team A) and Fu Ah Kiow (Team B). The then Secretary General Ting Chew Peh (Team A) was retained by Ong Ka Ting as goodwill gesture until 2005 when he was replaced by Ka Ting's brother Ong Kah Chuan (Team A) after the party election.

Will Tan Chai Ho and Loh Seng Kok who were the main EGM coordinators for Chua Soi Lek's camp given any senior positions representing the reborn Team A? If the horse trading is based on the 2003 formula, Chai Ho most probably will be rewarded with a VP position while Seng Kok might be in the run for the Organising Secretary or even the Secretary General position if Kong Cho Ha is appointed president for their service to Soi Lek's block. Seng Kok was formerly the MCA Youth Joint Secretary General with Tiong Lai under Youth Chief Ong Tee Keat after the peace plan in 2003.

If Tiong Lai is appointed president, there is no way Seng Kok will be appointed Sec-Gen as trust is wanting in between them even though they were the best of pals during their early days in MCA and as student leaders in UKM. They went separate ways when battle starts between Team A and Team B which was lead by their political mentors Ling Liong Sik and Lim Ah Lek. Both were former political secretaries to their mentors.

Another Chua is expected to be appointed to the Central Committee if those appointed by Tee Keat resigns. He is non other than the son of Chua Soi Lek and MP for Labis Chua Tee Yong.

3. Only Ong Tee Keat resigns

The changes of guard will only affect any two of the four vice presidents but no one should expect the changes to be anything but smooth. Basing on the top two votes secured by Kong Cho Ha and Liow Tiong Lai, it is logical for both of them to climb the party hierachy but the political ambition of Ng Yen Yen should not be discounted. It can be observed that in the run up to the EGM, Ng Yen Yen was clearly non-committal on her support for Ong Tee Keat and also avoids from commenting on Chua Soi Lek's sex acandal even though she was one time the Minister for Family Development and MCA Wanita Chief. It won't be a surprise if efforts is under ways to appoints her as the deputy president. This is the best return from the spoils of the EGM for a politician who has been distancing herself from the decisions of the Presidential Council and also the Central Committee.

4. Ong Tee Keat stays as President

First of all, the MCA Constitution does not requires Ong Tee Keat to resign. In politics everything is possible and the unthinkable can happen. The Central Committee might be successful in convincing Ong Tee Keat to stay on at least until the end of his term and go on leave from his party duty but retain his Transport Minister position. Tee Keat still have unfinished business in sorting out the PKFZ debacle which the public have high expectation for all perpetrators to be hauled up and charged in the court of law. If this happens, either Kong Cho Ha or Liow Tiong Lai will be appointed to fill the vacant deputy president position.

Tee Keat may be a lame duck president but as a minister that starts the ball rolling in cleaning up PKFZ, he must honour his duty to the 27 million Malaysians by leaving no stones unturn in search of the truth behind the fiasco. If he can provide justice and truth to the people, not just MCA members, he will be remembered as a statesman who dares to walk the talk and the courage to face challenges from all corners for the sake of the people. As a man of principle, he may want to be responsible for his leadership in MCA by taking the no confidence vote on  the presidency personally but then he has a bigger responsibility to the people of Malaysia.

He must at least fight for the last one round. Not for him. Not for his central committee. Not for MCA and surely not for BN. But for all Malaysians who uphold the principle of good governance in their beloved nation.

Even if he is down, he can give us a favor to fight this final round as a fellow Malaysian. - Loka

Good and bad followers

After the stalemate results from the Oct 10 EGM, can MCA still able to consolidate and re-invent itself and climb back to its former self before the 308 general election last year?

With the expected departure of Ong Tee Keat from the presidency, can MCA stand up to  the continuous bullying by big brother Umno and or ends up playing just an "extra" in the BN government?

Can green horn cabinet ministers like Liow Tiong Lai and Kong Cho Ha has the capability and courage to lead MCA in the face-offs with Umno.

Not that I don't have confidence in some of the people I know in MCA but the challenge is just too great for any of them to shoulder. They may be very comfortable and capable within their own domain but when it comes to dealing with Umno, many politicians in Umno are just too good and experience for any of the current MCA leaders. Umno politicians from the top leadership to the branch level are known to be able to eat, talk and sleep over politics all the time. There will be politics in everything they do or don't do. Most of the time the observant public wonders what these Umno politicians do for a living other than seeing and breathing politics in everything they do.

But then, all the blame cannot be pushed to Umno alone if MCA leaders can't deliver. It is MCA's delegates themselves which created or to be precise, wants to continue whatever the practice for the last 52 years. Umno fellas gets the contracts from the government, MCA leaders will obtain the sub-contracts and finish the job for their Umno comrades. Both sides will be happy and laughing all the way to the bank. Once, a former political secretary of a disgraced MCA minister gladly acknowledged the need for this "cooperation". From the results of the EGM, it can be deduced that at least half of the MCA delegates is still thinking along the same line which is totally do not synched with the feelings of the people especially the Chinese community they claimed to represents.

When MCA disintegrates, it is not because of their internal squabbles but due to the failure of the MCA delegates to read and win the mind and heart of the Chinese populace in this country. Some of MCA's delegates already forgotten the psychological warfare against the communist in the yesteryears when winning the heart and mind of the people was on the top of the agenda that won the war against the communists during the Emergency years.

The direction of the MCA is not set by the elected leader alone but by the guidance and wisdom of the delegates whom elected the leader. You deserves what you asked for. In any organisation, leaders will come and go, no one is indispensable. The problem is not with Ong Tee Keat or Chua Soi Lek but the people who decides who they want to lead them. If you elect a leader expecting favours, position and awards in return for your support, what is left  of you to take care of the needs of the people that you claimed to represent.

In a democracy, there is no good or lousy leader but there are good and bad followers. A leader, whether good or bad, is elected by the followers. If the leader performs badly, it is because the followers elect him and allows it to happens. If the leader done a great job, it is due to the followers wisdom in giving the person the opportunity to lead. In this aspect, the real leader is actually the followers or delegates who makes the decision to appoints someone to represents them in fulfilling their needs.

Can the MCA delegates/central committee members sees these when they select the next leader to represent and lead them? I am doubtful. - Loka

Chinese bogeyman

No matter what the political divides are saying about each other, the signs and voices on the ground is telling the same thing. The rakyat is still supporting whichever party they supported during last year's general election.

With the Permatang Pasir result showing PAS candidate winning the by-election with a similiar percentage point of votes casts, the score is now 7-1 in favour of Pakatan Rakyat after eight by-elections since March 2008. With another two by-elections looming in Kedah and possibly one in Selangor, the stage fight for political supremacy and face saving antics in showdowns between rival parties will be an open show for all, albeit a stressful and frustrated one for the people.

As usual there will a bogeyman in the fight for this political war between Najib's Umno and Anwar's led PKR/Pakatan Rakyat. It it very clear all this by-elections are the platform for ring fights between Najib in one corner and Anwar on the other for the coveted premiership. Other parties are merely ring side supporters. As usual the bogeyman role will be specially alloted to the Chinese community. The losing candidate from Umno already spelt it out in his statement after his trouncing by the PAS candidate in Permatang Pasir. He blamed his loss on the Chinese voters for not voting him.

Since the self declared Chinese "taikor" MCA is in shambles now where internal fire is gutting the Wisma MCA, it won't be too long the party will go through another round of party war between two factions. When the MCA is in state of uncertainty, the vultures and hawks in Umno will strike when the water is still muddy by maneuvering the departure of MCA leaders whom they think are not submissive to Umno bullying and arrogant attitude.

Signs are there to lead to the unseen hand of Umno's meddling in the MCA affairs. One of it is by not defending or even supporting the Transport minister who is also MCA president Ong Tee Keat handling of the PKFZ fiasco. Even the appointment of MCA deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek, who is at logger head with Tee Keat, as the specially created BN coordinator position is an attempt to slap Tee Keat's face in front of all BN component party leaders.

Whatever it is, knowing Tee Keat's strong stance in pursuing any controversial issue as matter of principle and accountability, I suspect that he will be able to survive this round of onslaughts from all corners. The worst kind of all betrayals is when he is stabbed on the back by his own comrades. Another round has just begun when six divisions in Perak demanded for his suspension as party president and minister.

Chinese politics especially in MCA has a history of periodic party upheavals where a line is drawn between two rival factions. MCA may be able to survive from the possibility of the party splitting into two where one group lead a mass departure of members from the party to form another. While the party may be intact after the storm, the same cannot be said about the Chinese community whom MCA self declared as their saviour and protector.

Time has changed. MCA may be able to stay intact after an internal strife, but the grassroot support from the Chinese would have shifted to DAP or even PKR for good. A point of no return. There will be no winners in MCA internal struggle, just losers left to lick their wounds and their pride. - Loka

PAS supports DAP?

It looks like the DAP are going all out for the Chinese voters in the Kuala Terengganu by-election by giving MCA a head-on fight. Even though DAP is not fielding any candidate for the by-election, they are fighting nail and tooth for the 11% Chinese voters to throw their support to the PAS candidate. If PAS wins this round with the Chinese support then DAP can claim that the Chinese already deserted MCA and the real Chinese champion now is no more MCA but DAP.

Is DAP putting in too much effort for the sake of reducing MCA's influence amongst the Chinese community? What will be the price that DAP have to pay later when PAS gets stronger and more accessible to the Chinese community? As the Nik Aziz had said about Umno on the derailed plan to enhance PAS-Umno cooperation, " one does not get bitten twice by the same snake from the same hole twice"?

Has DAP forgotten the the thrashing they suffered in the 1999 general election after the Chinese voters deserted them due to their close cooperation with PAS? PAS won more seats than they can ever imagine while DAP experience one of the worst general election results. Lim Kit Siang even lost in Ipoh Timur and with that also the Opposition Leader position in Parliament to PAS president Hadi Awang.

On the other way around, if there is a by-election now which is contested by DAP against BN in a mixed seat, will PAS gives the similiar support if not more to ensure victory for DAP? Based on precedents and the insistence of PAS on the Islamic State and Hudud issue, it will be very slim chance for this to happen. Maybe PAS wil provide a gesture of "goodwill" is by not contesting the seat themselves!

DAP Chairman Karpal Singh has been very clear in his stand that there shall be no Hudud law or Islamic state for this country. Karpal has been very consistent in his stand but it seems some DAP leaders are still playing buddy-buddy to PAS for whatever reasons they know better. If DAP leaders are not careful, this external issue will be the catalyst of leadership split and downfall of DAP. - Loka

MCA Shadow Committee

Another small group of MCA members led by an academician Dr Daphne Loke teamed up today to form an Integrity Watch Group to oversee and monitor the development and performance of its leaders and related issues. These loose group of mostly obscure MCA members hopes to analyse issues concerning MCA and its leaders and then provide the necessary suggestions to improve the party.

With the current "tense" atmosphere between president Ong Tee Keat and deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek, it will not escape the observation of members and outsiders that this group functions as a watch-dog on the various committee and bureaus within MCA especially the Government Policy Monitoring Committee headed by Soi Lek.

Is it possible that this new loose group, while claiming to be concerned members of MCA is actually a front to shadow the Government Policy Monitoring Committee's to ensure its' actions are within acceptable level of MCA? - Loka

Beyond Kuala Terengganu by-election

The coming by-election in January 17 next year for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary will not only a test for the selected candidates but also for other interested parties and individual politicians.

The contest is expected to be a direct fight between Umno/BN against PAS/PR although independent candidates cannot be written off as a spoiler. The late Razali Ismail of Umno won the seat with a slim majority in the last election and do not expect a big majority for the winner this time around. Historically this seat has been changing hands between Umno and Pas with slim majorities.

The anointed PM-to-be Najib Razak will be hard-up to retain this seat as a moral booster for him to take over from Abdullah Badawi in coming March. Following tradition, Najib is expected to lead the BN campaign and he cannot risked being slewed by PR in this by-election as happened in Permatang Pauh. It will be some sort of a vote of confidence for Najib if BN wins but if Pas grabbed the seat, it can be taken as a cue that the people are having doubts about his leadership.

Umno as a party will be pressurized to take this seat. Since 308 general election, this embattled party has been whacked by it's component and opposition parties on various contentious issues. If it lose this seat it will add more misery to it's already wounded image as the dominant party of BN. To ensure this did not happens, the party will be pulling out all it's tricks under it's sleeves and playing to the gallery of Malay majority voters.

Politicians aiming for posts in the March Umno election who can spare their internal party campaigning hours will be trooping to Kuala Terengganu to make their presence felt and many won't be suprised if words coming from their mouth are to boost their standing in the eyes of Umno delegates rather than fishing for voters of the constituency. Do not be alarmed if there arises many copycats of the infamous Ahmad Ismail as in the Permatang Pauh by-election. The aim is to score political points for themselves, not for Umno or BN.

The Bandar state seat within Kuala Terengganu is the only seat held by MCA as most Chinese voters are concentrated in this urban area. This will be the primary area which MCA will set up their operation center. Basing on the slim majority in previous Kuala Terengganu contests, the Chinese votes will be crucial for both sides of the political divide. Can MCA deliver the Chinese votes under the new leadership of Ong Tee Keat? This will be Tee Keat's first foray in a by-election since elected MCA president and he need to prove his leadership not only via his linguistic style but to deliver the Chinese votes to Umno.

On the other hand, Tee Keat most probably will not be actively campaigning in KT but dispatch his trusted ally Wong Foon Meng to lead the MCA campaign. Although Foon Meng is not considered a heavyweight, to the surprised of many he was picked by Tee Keat to be MCA's secretary general after the party's election. As the third in line of the party hierachy and also a KT local boy who was also a former state exco, Foon Meng is expected to be given the mandate to lead MCA's campaign in KT. It will be an opportunity for him to justified to some of his comrades who is still doubtful of his capability that he qualifies to be the secretary general and also chairman of the MCA Selangor state committee.

As for PAS, the main challenge will be on the shoulder of it's president Hadi Awang who is based in Terengganu. He lost Terengganu to Umno in 2004 after winning it in 1999 and was it's Menteri Besar. Then Pas Terengganu performed lack-lustrely in 2008 when Pakatan Rakyat took four states while retaining Kelantan. Hadi Awang have to redeem his pride and stature not only in the eyes of his comrades in Pas but also his counterparts in Pakatan Rakyat.

It is very obvious that Hadi Awang presence in PR are not significant, most of the time Pas face in PR are represented by it's deputy president Nasharuddin Isa or some other second liners. It will Hadi's fight for his national political standing especially in the opposition front which is dominated by Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang.

With 11 days of campaigning and impact to the stakeholders, do expect the monsoon season in the east coast state to be more ferocious than usual. - Loka

Will Umno accepts sex tainted as minister?

Will BN or more specifically Umno, accepts a sex scandal tainted politician back into the Cabinet?

It is interesting to note the re-entry of a sex scandal tainted politician into a high level position in his party. The choice of the party delegates to elect a politician who openly admits being adulterous and quits his government and political positions in a huff invites comments on the wisdom and mentality of the delegates.

Even though the politician was elected with less than 50% of the votes, the support he got had vindicated him in one way or another. It shows that about half of the delegates had put the difference between personal and public affairs and judge the person based on his capability in the party and the government. His sexual waywardness which ends up in a sex DVD distributed for public consumption was not an issue to them. The delegates that voted for him prefers to acknowledge his public service rather than his personal service!

That’s what delegates from this school of thoughts wants to believe.

On the other side of the coin it can also be deduced that the delegates way of thinking are also based on their personal beliefs and also practice. Will it be too preposterous to derive that the delegates that voted for him also had the tendency to be sexually wayward as the elected one. Are these delegates choice reflects their own personal intention too? The message the delegates want to put across is that it is alright to commit adultery and bring disrepute to their family and party. Just don’t get caught doing it and if you do, all one’s need to do is admit it in front of the press and TV cameras. Then in an instance it turns from zero to hero.

Indirectly it also reflects the party’s stand – go ahead and commits adultery; you are most welcome to lead us doing it after that!

The contribution of this sex scandal tainted politician will now moves a step higher – the Cabinet. Based on convention he is expected be appointed a full minister by the PM of the BN government upon recommendation by his party president. But there will be some criteria or even obstacles that needed to be sort out before he can become a minister.

First, whether he himself prepared to accepts the nomination. With his tainted background, will he be able to perform his duties as before? Will his re-entry into the cabinet brings good tidings to his party or will it dragged the party to worse and lower ebb? As an old man he ought to be able wiser in his judgment.

Secondly, he is neither an MP nor Senator which means he can’t be appointed as Minister unless he becomes either one. The easier one will be via the back door i.e. to make him a Senator. The other choice is for him to contest a by-election and wins it. That means someone needs to vacate a seat for him. The choice of seat will be obvious, which is his former seat that was handed over to his son in the recent general election. It sounds very much a family affair which he openly criticized during the party election campaign. That’s OK! He just requires admitting it openly that he practices nepotism and his party people are expected to accept it. The difficult part will be to convince the constituency voters especially during this political climate when Umno may be too busy and reluctant to campaign for a sex tainted candidate to fish for the Malay-Muslim votes in the constituency.

Thirdly, even if he is appointed as Senator or elected as an MP in a by-election he will face the final hurdle to walk into the Cabinet. With his tainted background, which Umno PM will want to take the risk to bring in a person whom committed “zina” (adultery) into an “Islamic” country Cabinet? It is not that the other ministers are as holy as a saint or all are ulamaks (as mentioned by the politician previously) or without any hint of sexual misconduct. The problem is no ministers ever admitted berzina (adultery) with other women who are not their legally married wife.

PAS will have a field day attacking Umno on the un-Islamic nature of the Cabinet. Will Umno and the PM take the risks for the sake of one politician and party which Umno considers non-consequential in the running of the country? - Loka

Talking About Soldiers on Paper

A new MCA leadership has been elected on Oct 19 with a mixed of characters and players. Ong Tee Keat as expected by political observers beat Chua Jui Meng for the presidency. Dr Chua Soi Lek dramatically pipped Ong Ka Chuan to be the new deputy president while Dr Ng Yen Yen created MCA history when she secured a seat as the vice president. As an initiative for reform and planning for the future, many new and young faces were given the opportunity to be elected as central committee members.

What will be MCA's future under the new leadership of Ong Tee Keat, the so-called "lone-ranger" ? He is now the numero uno of the 3rd largest Chinese political party in the world. What can the Malaysian Chinese and people of other races expected from him?

Tee Keat is a survivor in MCA's politics of patronization and "with us or against us" culture. His differences with former MCA president Ling Liong Sik is well-known to all. He climbed the political ladder step by step, having tasted his first public office election during the Ampang by-election in 1989 which he won by beating former MCA's Selangor leader Dr Lim Ann Koon. When he was first elected MCA Youth chairman in 1999, he was not in the cai tan (menu) or the preferred choice. He beat Loke Yuen Yow, a close associate of Ling Liong Sik.

Being tri-lingual, he was appointed as Parliament's Deputy Speaker after he won the Ampang by-election. After the 1999 general election he was appointed as Deputy Minister for Youth and Sports and the minister that time was Hishammudin Tun Hussein. His boss in the ministry was changed after the 2004 election when former Umno Puteri head, Azalina Othman was appointed as minister. It is well-known amongst the ministry officials and youth leaders at that time, the short stint reporting to Azalina was not a comfortable one for both of them.

After being elected MCA vice president in 2005, a cabinet re-shuffle in 2006 moves Tee Keat to the Higher Education Ministry under Umno's Mustapha Mohd. His position in the Youth Ministry was given to the MCA Youth head then Liow Tiong Lai. It was during this time that Tee Keat had a war of words with the Education Minister Hishammudin, his former boss in the Youth Ministry, regarding allocation for a school. He was asked to apologized but he stuck to his grounds.

Now he is elected MCA president, his seniority in the Cabinet will be trajected to third in terms of seniority in the Barisan Nasional government. It will be interesting to know how is Hishammudin and Azalina going to feel now. Their former deputy is now their senior in Cabinet!

Another person to look out for is the just elected to first placed vice president Kong Cho Ha, the current Deputy Finance Minister. Based on convention, will he be appointed as full Minister? If he is, will it be the minister position currently held by Ong Ka Chuan, the defeated candidate for deputy president? Or Chua Soi Lek will demand for a senatorial appointment and go back to the Cabinet via the back door by clamouring for Ong Ka Chuan's position?

One thing is for sure, the Cabinet re-shuffle is imminent. Latest expected to be early April 2009 after the Umno's general assembly in late March 2009 where many current ministers are expected to be dumped by Najib and replace with the president's men.

No matter who is appointed as ministers, it will be of no consequence if the rhetorics during the MCA's AGM is not follow through and translated to actions and results as expected by not only their members but most important of all the people of Malaysia.

Ong Tee Keat is now in the driver seat. He have the chance to turn his linguistics aspirations into reality. He has been vocal on various issues when he was the MCA Youth chairman, demanding answers and accountability on every opportunity. Now everyone will be focusing on him, demanding the same that he once expected others to do.

Tee Keat, keep to your words and conscience. Translate your dreams to actions. Many of those that once work together with you for the well-being of the young people of Malaysia will be watching with high expectations.

As you once said to me, " There is no use of talking about soldiers on paper". I am now returning those same words to you! - Loka

U-Turn for Gerakan?

This weekend will provide signals on the direction of the BN component members when Parti Gerakan Rakyat Malaysia have their national delegates convention. Gerakan will be the first BN component party to have their party election since the political tsunami of March 8.

Basing on the long list and variety of candidates lining up to contest, the coming party election provides a platform for Gerakan members to voice their views and feelings after the 308 debacle. With more candidates offering themselves for the posts, it shows that they still want to give their last shot to serve and change Gerakan for the better. It will be the right place for Gerakan delegates to thrash out whatever dissatifactoriness against the leadership, BN government policies and specifically Umno's arrogance and don't care less about other components attitude.

It will also be a turning point for Gerakan to change or in reality to U-turn to their original objectives and direction when it was first established. Everyone, including many in Gerakan acknowlege that Gerakan need to make a decisive decision on their future role in the nation's politics. The many years in BN had makes it a "beggar of BN" where it depends on Umno to justify their existence in Malaysian politics. Whether Gerakan exists in BN or not makes not much difference. The worst of all it makes Gerakan begging to Umno to maintain it's relevancy. Gerakan becoming the "sick man of BN". The Malay proverb says,"Hidup segan, mati tak mahu".

After March 8, Gerakan lost it's one and only "senior" ministerial position previously held by former president Lim Keng Yaik. The position was given to Umno. What they got is just two deputy ministers positions. If history is to repeat itself, do not expect Gerakan to get back the position even if they are able to increase their parliamentary seats the next round. MCA held the Finance minister portfolio until the 1970's before it was taken away by Umno. Now MCA are happy just to be given the Deputy Finance Minister 1, not even Finance Minister II. MIC even held the Education portfolio once and now their traditional Works Ministry was also taken by Umno after the last election.

Gerakan need to decide. To be in or out of BN. To be able to decide in a more mature way, they need to reflect on the original intention of the formation Gerakan by their forefathers. Gerakan was never meant to be a racial based party; it was never intended to be a surbodinate of another party; it was never the party just for the educationist; it was never set-up to promote a political dynasty; it was never there to condone any corrupt practices and land grabbing.

It was to be the champion of people of all races, all religion, all stratas of society- without fear or favour. Can Gerakan still do all these? The delegates to the National Delegates Convention must decide wisely. An unwise decision will make Gerakan irrelevant and unwanted by the people and sent it to the footnote of the Malaysian political history. - Loka