Sunday August 30, 2009

Jostling over who’s No. 1

Yum Cha by LEE YUK PENG

Prickly issues among the various Chinese umbrella organisations are being talked out cordially over dinner.

A PRIVATE dinner attended by the Who’s Who in the Chinese community was held recently, but the focus was not on food but on resolving the tricky and touchy issue of which group is the No. 1 umbrella organisation of the Chinese community.

There were shouts of Yam Seng, but the cordial atmosphere only masked the jostling between rival contenders for the prestigious position – the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Malaysia (ACCCIM) and the Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia (Hua Zong).

The dinner hosted by Tan Sri William Cheng, president of ACCCIM, was a sort of summit of Chinese community leaders representing not only ACCCIM and Huazong but also the education groups – the United Chinese School Committees Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong), the United Chinese Schools Teachers Association of Malaysia (Jiao Zong), and the Malaysia Chinese Seven Major Clans Association, representing the Hakka, Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien, Hainanese and others.

Specialist approach

It was called following an open spat between Cheng and another tycoon, Tan Sri Lim Gait Tong, who is the president of Hua Zong.

The issue burst into the open after a resolution was adopted at the ACCCIM committee meeting on Aug 2, which instructed its state chambers to withdraw their membership or affiliation with the state-level Chinese Assembly Halls that are grouped under Hua Zong.

Round table meeting: ACCCIM president Cheng (fifth from left) and Hua Zong president Lim (fourth from right), attending a round table dinner with other Chinese community leaders recently. Other leaders included Seven Major Clans Association president Datuk Koong Heng Sze (left), Jiao Zong chairman Ong Chiaw Chuen (ninth from left) and Dong Zong chairman Dr Yap (ninth from right).

ACCCIM said the withdrawal from Hua Zong was to help different Chinese organisations to focus on specific goals and avoid conflicts.

And thus, under this new approach of specialisation, ACCCIM would focus on business and economic matters while Hua Zong would concentrate on culture and Chinese-related affairs. Along the same lines, Dong Zong and Jiao Zong would focus on education and MCA on politics.

Cheng was quoted by Chinese newspapers as saying that Hua Zong was not the big boss of the Chinese community for four reasons.

Firstly, Chinese issues needed to be handled professionally and there should not be a one-stop centre for everything.

Historically, it was a former ACCCIM president who proposed the formation of state assembly halls, and that led to the birth of these entities.

But even then, ACCCIM has never claimed to be the No. 1.

Secondly, he argued, main bodies like ACCCIM, Hua Zong, Dong Jiao Zong and the Seven Clans Associations are equal in status while playing different roles and none of them should regard itself as the No. 1.

Thirdly, all four should work together to support each other for the betterment of the community and nation.

Cheng’s fourth point was that ties among Chinese organisations depended very much on the attitude of the leaders.

A toast to you: Lim (left) and Cheng (right) shaking hands to prove that they have resolved the differences at the dinner.

It is obvious that the roles of these organisations are often overlapping and there is a need to sort them out accordingly.

Lim, in response, cautioned that ACCCIM’s withdrawal from Hua Zong may betray Hua Zong’s original mission as it carries the task of uniting the Chinese community.

Round table dining

Naturally, views are split on this issue even among Chinese leaders.

A giant dining table measuring 3m in diameter was used to accomodate the 18 VIP guests, the youngest of whom was Ter Leong Yap, 45, deputy president of the KL and Selangor Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry under the ACCCIM.

The oldest was Dr Yap Sin Tian,70, president of Dong Zong.

Even the choice of dining table was significant. It was round, signalling a sense of completion and fulfilment (yuan man); and all seats were the same – none was allocated as a VIP seat.

The atmosphere was cordial and laughter rang throughout the two-and-a-half-hour dinner held in a private room of the restaurant.

At 10.45pm, Cheng, who is the chairman of Lion Group, and Lim, head of Farlim Group, emerged from the dinner and were seen to be giving one another the opportunity to start the press conference.

There was no cue as to who was No. 1 but all agreed to have a scheduled meeting every three months to discuss issues related to the Chinese community – in a bid to enhance ties.

Earlier, despite requests by press photographers for a group photo, no one was willing to leave their seats and stand behind someone else.

Thus, photographers resorted to taking a group photo with everyone sitting around the giant table.

Sorting things out

Dinner seems to be the Chinese way to sort things out. As Cheng said, meeting once in three months would come with dinner, and each organisation would take their turn as host.

But dinner can also be a cause for dispute, as seen in how this tricky issue of who is No. 1 came about.

The issue of withdrawing from the State Chinese Assembly Hall started in Penang in February last year over a dinner for the then Prime Minister, Datuk Seri (now Tun) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. The event resulted in the Penang Chamber of Commerce and Industry pulling out from Penang Chinese Town Hall.

It was rumoured that the spat between Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping, president of the Penang Chamber of Commerce, and Tan Sri Lim Gait Tong, as Penang Chinese Town Hall chairman, became an open rivalry and Tan had led the chamber’s withdrawal.

Another breaking point is said to be the 1Malaysia dinner organised by the Chinese community for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya in June.

The bone of contention was who should be the last person to deliver a speech as, according to protocol, the last speaker was deemed to be the No. 1, besides, of course, the guest of honour.

Traditionally, the Chinese believe that with a full stomach – and lots of Yam Seng – many issues can be solved in a cordial way.

The dispute has quietened down for the moment.

Three months down the road, Cheng will be having dinner with a new Hua Zong president, either Tan Sri Pheng Yin Huah, managing director of Kinsteel Bhd and Perwaja Holdings Bhd, or Tan Yew Sing, founder of Inti Education Group.

The Hua Zong election will be held on Sept 27 in Penang.

News

Sunday August 30, 2009

Jostling over who’s No. 1

Yum Cha by LEE YUK PENG

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