Other News
November 28, 2009 19:20 PM
Liow's Faction Demands Fresh Polls At CC Level Within 60 Days
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 (Bernama) -- The MCA special briefing Saturday, unanimously passed a declaration to push for fresh polls at the Central Committee (CC) level, within 60 days.
The declaration is called 'Declaration 1128' to coincide with today's date.
The meeting also agreed to the proposal to amend Article 46 of the party's constitution on the appointment of members to the Presidential Council (PC) that it should include an automatic appointment of all vice-presidents, ministers and deputy ministers to the council, instead of the current practice of being the prerogative of the party president.
The special briefing, organised by vice-president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai's faction, themed '1128: A New Starting Point', also called for party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to stick to the consensus which both sides had agreed upon, in conducting fresh polls.
Speaking to reporters after the two-hour briefing for some 1,600 grassroots representatives, including delegates at the San Choon Hall, Wisma MCA here, Liow hoped the party's top leadership would listen to the voice of the grassroots and hold fresh elections soon.
"This will now be my focus. I want to see it through (fresh polls to be held)," he said, adding that "the voice of the delegates and members who attended today's briefing is strong and clear."
The briefing today was held to replace the earlier extraordinary general meeting (EGM) organised by Liow's faction, following a consensus reached between Liow's faction and the party's top two leaders, Ong and his deputy, Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, to hold fresh polls for the CC level.
Liow was confident that a date for the fresh polls would be fixed soon, in accordance to the road map on restoring the party's integrity and dignity that had been presented to Ong.
He said 13 elected CC members aligned to him were also ready to resign to allow for fresh polls to be conducted, adding that another 17 elected CC members should also do the same if they were serious in restoring the party's unity.
Asked why fresh polls needed to be carried out at the CC level, Liow claimed that all problems faced by the party now were caused by the CC, and thus, there was a need to solve them at that level, and "has nothing to do with the Youth or Wanita wings."
"This is because, the CC is unable to implement the decisions of the Oct 10 EGM," he added.
On his next course of action if the demand for fresh polls was not met, he replied: "I will tell you later".
On the amendment of Article 46, Liow claimed that it was crucial to avoid power abuse by the party's president, following the recent development which saw Ong making a major reshuffle in the CC, resulting in several leaders, including the Wanita and Youth chiefs aligned to Liow, being removed.
"The time has come (to ensure) that such power is not abused. We feel that it is better to institute in Article 46 that the president has to appoint all vice-presidents, including Youth and Wanita chiefs, deputy ministers and members of administration (in the Cabinet) to the Presidential Council," he said.
Article 46 of the MCA Constitution states: "There shall be established from amongst the members of the Central Committee, a Presidential Council which shall consist of the President, Deputy President, one of more Vice-Presidents, the Secretary-General, the Tresurer-General, the National Organising Secretary and not more than ten (10) other members appointed by the President in his absolute discretion, who likewise may terminate such appointment if and when he thinks fit".
Meanwhile, Wanita chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun said the amendment was crucial to ensure there was a check-and-balance of power in the party, especially for Wanita and Youth chiefs, since they should automatically sit in the PC as their members constituted 72 per cent of the total number of party members.
Earlier in his speech, Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong concurred with Chew that all MCA leaders with public positions, including deputy ministers, should be included in the PC, as they also played important roles in the making of government policies.
Meanwhile, the party's former secretary-general, Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, who was present and delivered a speech at the briefing, emphasised that he did not support any faction, but that his presence there was rather on a matter of principle to prevent the party from plunging into deeper crisis.
-- BERNAMA
We provide
(subscription-based)
news coverage in our Newswire service.
