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Sunday October 4, 2009

Crunch time for fence-sitters

Yum Cha by LEE YUK PENG


Social commentator, columnist and radio presenter Jamaluddin Ibrahim, fondly known as Jia Ma by his followers, gives his take on the coming MCA extraordinary general meeting.

THE verdict of the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of the MCA on Oct 10 will determine the future direction of the party and the fate of its two leaders – president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and suspended deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.

The possibilities are likely to be either one of them staying on or both ousted by the central delegates.

Ong will stay if he survives the no-confidence motion against him, as stated in Resolution 1; and Dr Chua fails to annul the decision of the central committee (Resolution 2), which revised the decision of the Presiden­tial Council’s (PC) sacking of him to suspending him for four years.

Jamaluddin: ‘In the MCA, the party crisis is a song that never ends but party reform comes once in 60 years.’

Dr Chua will emerge as the new leader of the MCA if delegates pass Resolution 2 to annul the central committee’s decision.

In this scenario, even if Ong survives the no-confidence motion, he has said that he will quit.

In an interview held one day prior to the Central Committee (CC) meeting, which revised the PC’s decision, Ong said the central delegates’ decision to annul the PC’s decision would be deemed as casting a vote of no-confidence against both the PC and himself as its head.

Ong said he would quit for this reason. So, delegates will have to make up their mind – either Ong or Dr Chua.

Social commentator, columnist and radio presenter Jamaluddin Ibrahim believes that it would be a tough decision for delegates to make and that whatever they decide, it would mean charting a new direction for the party.

“Where the MCA is heading in the future lies with the decision of 2,377 central delegates,’’ says Jamaluddin, fondly known as Jia Ma by Chinese listeners of his “Say Hi to Malaysia” morning talk show on Chinese radio station 988 in an interview.

A columnist for several Chinese newspapers and the Mandarin section of Malaysiakini, the online news portal, Jamaluddin is also considering how the position of fence-sitters and whether money politics, if it exists in this EGM, will determine the fate of Ong and Dr Chua.

“Basically, both Ong and Dr Chua have their hardcore supporters in the party,” he says. “The fence-sitters will be the deciding factor.”

As for Ong’s announcement that he would step down should Dr Chua return – if Resolution 2 receives support from the delegates – Jamaluddin says it is the right decision to make.

As the CC has favoured suspending Dr Chua rather than sacking him, the same resolution is now seeking to annul the CC’s review,

“The entire CC should quit too if its decision is vetoed by the central delegates,” says Jama­luddin.

Otherwise, the CC will not be able to function as it will be led by a leader the CC does not approve of.

“There should be a fresh party election for a new team,” he says.

Jamaluddin, the Beijing-born son of famous Malaysian Communist Party leader Shamsiah Fakeh, regularly writes commentaries for Chinese newspapers and magazines.

A Malay who is fluent in Mandarin, Jamaluddin returned to Malaysia 15 years ago. He wrote a 10-part series on the MCA in conjunction with the party’s last election, starting with former president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting announcing his decision to step down and ending when the election was over, in the Mandarin section of Malaysiakini.

The series was widely read by online readers as Jamaluddin analysed current issues within the MCA and commented on its position in Barisan Nasional.

During the launch last month of his book titled Authored States: Musings of Jamaluddin Ibrahim (published in Chinese), he was besieged by fans who wanted to get his autograph. The book is a collection of interviews and commentaries on politicians of both divide, including Ong and Dr Chua.

In his book, Jamaluddin, a Malay who seems to be more Chinese than a Malaysian Chinese, opines that the MCA could find a new space in the current political environment if, and only if, it is able to consolidate its political resources and serve the people and nation in a “politically correct” manner.

“It should not be fearful of slander, attack, pressure, and even Umno and Pakatan Rakyat,” he writes.

“Instead of playing the role to fulfil the demands of the Chinese community, the MCA should focus on matters with a ‘politically correct’ stand,” he says.

How the MCA achieves this will depend on who the leader is and whether it starts a new political culture or continue with the old form and its traditional role in the Barisan, he says.

“The central delegates’ choice of leaders will reflect the battling of two sets of forces, old and new, and the wresting of party resources linked with power,” he adds.

Jamaluddin says he sees Dr Chua as a replica of former MCA president Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik – someone who is familiar with the MCA’s position and role in the Barisan.

In the book, he writes that Dr Chua is of the view that there is nothing wrong with Umno or the Barisan, judging from the results of the March 8 general election.

“Their only problem is that they were in power for a long time and have become arrogant. To rectify that, some slight adjustment will do.”

Central delegates can opt to cast a no-confidence vote against Ong or they can reinstate Dr Chua in one of the resolutions. Where will the party be after the decision is made? Do MCA delegates want their party to remain at a standstill, go backwards, or move forward?

In one of his articles in the book, which was also published in Sin Chew Daily, Jamaluddin notes: “In the MCA, the party crisis is a song that never ends but party reform comes once in 60 years.”

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