MCA central committee flexes muscles

MCA central committee flexes muscles

Alan Ting Monday, 21 September 2009 16:36

KUALA LUMPUR - Just when the MCA seemed all set to hold its extraordinary general meeting (EGM), in the wake of deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek's dismissal, the party's central committee (CC) has flexed its muscles to overturn the decision and suspend him for four years, instead. This begs the question of whether the power of the CC was overlooked, or even underestimated, in the fractious past weeks which saw more than a fair share of barbs traded between rival supporters of party president Ong Tee Keat and Chua. "They overlooked the CC as an independent body and pre-empted us by going straight for an EGM which should be called only as a last resort, and not the first resort. Members should not have jumped the gun," CC member Ti Lian Ker, of Pahang, told Bernama. He said, disgruntled members should have waited first to see how the CC would act before pushing for the EGM, now fixed for Oct 10, after the presidential council sacked Chua for tarnishing the party's image over a sex video scandal. CC has final say Ti said the party constitution empowered the CC to take disciplinary action against any elected party official including to suspend or to expel with the support of two-thirds of the CC members present at the meeting. Under Article 128 of the constitution, the CC has the final say on disciplinary matters and that cannot be challenged, even in a court of law. Ti said he had insisted that Chua's case be discussed at the marathon seven-hour CC meeting last Saturday. Currently, there are 43 CC members with 25 elected, seven appointed by the president while the rest are party office-bearers. Ti refuted that the CC's move was tantamount to a lack of confidence in the presidential council, adding that at the same meeting, the CC had overturned other disciplinary decisions, as well. Party sources said Chua's case was brought up by Senator Wong Siong Hwee from Kelantan and all were given the opportunity to express their views, including the most senior CC member, Wong Mook Leong. Wong re-told his experience when he was sacked during the party crisis in the 1980s, expressing that a suspension would have a similar effect as an expulsion, the source said. "Some CC members sympathised with Chua. They felt there was no need to push an already broken man and believed he should be given a chance to salvage a bit of his shattered honour," it added. Due process must follow Others felt that it was not appropriate and an act of disrespect to the central delegates, for the CC to discuss the matter as the rival factions had already agreed to the EGM and agenda. Party veteran Yap Pian Hon (left) maintained the CC had the mandate because all decisions, including disciplinary matters, must go through both the presidential council and CC, the two decision-making organs in the party. "If we stop at the presidential council level, it can be argued later that the decision is invalid because the due proces was not complete," he said. A political observer, who declined to be named, views the CC's decision as a move to neutralise the symphathy factor towards Chua for the EGM, to "take some wind away from the sail". The suspension may cause part of the 2,377 delegates to reconsider their views and swing away from Chua as he would only be a party member after four years. After all, Chua had said he wanted to die an MCA member, the observer noted. - Bernama

Political parties condemn cow head demo

malaysianmirror Sunday, 30 August 2009 03:48

SHAH ALAM - Political parties and the public have condemned the cow head demo in Shah Alam on Friday saying that if no action is taken against those responsible, there will be racial discord in the country. Klang MP Charles Santiago said that parading the head of a chopped cow to dramatically protest the re-location of a Hindu temple to Section 23 is strangely unusual. “We have never seen such an overt display of religious discord in Malaysia, unless it is orchestrated by the ruling Umno, despite the escalation of racial tension in the last few years,’’ he said in a statement. The demostrators marched to the State Secretariat building after Friday prayers carrying the severed head of a cow and demanding that the Hindu temple should not be re-located in their neighbourhood. Threats of bloodshed Santiago added that Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim has been portrayed as a traitor to Islam and over the last few weeks Pakatan Rakyat politicians in Selangor have been targeted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for alleged corrupt pratices. Police watched as the protesters chanted slogans and condemned the Selangor government as being insensitive to Islam claiming that the noise from the temple could disturb their prayers. After placing the cow’s head at the gate of the State Secretariat building the protesters spat and stomped on the cow’s head and said that the animal’s head was for Santiago. Selangor Police Chief Khalid Abu Bakar disappointed that his men just stood and watched the “parade” has said that he would definitely take action if a police report is lodged. Santiago added that he was stumped that opposition politicians are quickly nabbed for making statements allegedly threatening national security but the CPO is waiting for a police report.. “ One protester is reported to have challenged the state government to go ahead with the re-location, warning that it would guarantee bloodshed and racial tension,” he said. A local resident of Section 23, where the temple is to be built, was quoted as saying that some of those who had protested were not even from their area. Santiago claimed that Umno was playing dirty politics as they were desperate to see the toppling of the Pakatan-led Selangor state government. He condemned the lack of action on the part of the police, who he said were accomplices to the act that is totally disrespectful to the Hindus. MCA: It's a barbaric act MCA NGO Liaison Bureau Chairman Ti Lian Ker said in a statement that the recent act of displaying a cow head and holding the government to ransom is an act of treason and sedition. “I call upon all political parties to dissociate themselves from such a barbaric act and to condemn this despicable act in the spirit of our coming Independence Day celebrations, “ he said. No responsible citizen should support or justify such acts which tantamount to a war cry in a peaceful and peace loving country like Malaysia. Ti added that “religious freedom is enshrined in our Federal Constitution. We have laws and order governing our religious practices. Nobody should challenge or undermine the due process of the law. There are no laws or regulations by racial or religious sentiments or by numbers based on racial composition of an area. The barbaric mob act of displaying the head of a cow and threatening bloodshed is a felony”. MIC presidenti S Samy seeing red over the issue has called upon the Indians to remain calm saying that the cow was sacred to the hindus and regretted the action by the Malay Muslims.

The Star

Sunday August 30, 2009

All should condemn act of provocation, says Ti

PETALING JAYA: All political parties should condemn the acts of provocation displayed by the group protesting the relocation of a temple in Shah Alam, said MCA non-governmental organisation liaison bureau chairman Datuk Ti Lian Ker.

He said the protesters’ actions were seditious in nature and absolutely abhorrent.

“I call upon all political parties to disassociate themselves from and condemn this despicable act in the spirit of our coming National Day celebrations,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

Information, Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim said Muslims should put aside their differences during Ramadan.

“Those who took part in the protest should not forget that there are laws in our country and they have to abide by it.

“There are proper channels for them to express their disagreement,” Dr Rais added.

The Malaysian Hindu Sangam has asked its members to remain calm and not to carry out any demonstrations against Friday’s protest. However, the association wanted the police to take immediate and stern action against those responsible, said its adviser Datuk A. Vaithilingam.

“We are very disturbed with what happened, it was most despicable.

“The Inspector-General of Police should immediately order the arrest of those who are easily identifiable from the pictures and video and charge them in court,” he said yesterday.

The association’s president Mohan Shan also called for stern action by the police.

“We hope the temple issue is settled as soon as possible without being politicised,” he said.

Permatang Pasir result a big boost for PAS, PR

Permatang Pasir result a big boost for PAS, PR

TheEdge

Tags: Barisan Nasional Mohd Salleh Man Pas Permatang Pasir by-election Rohaizat Othman
Written by Yong Min Wei & Lam Jian Wyn
Wednesday, 26 August 2009 00:29


KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional’s (BN) moral victory in the Manek Urai by-election last month does not appear to have rejuvenated the coalition’s political clout and campaign machinery as it went down tamely to PAS by a 4,551-vote majority in the Permatang Pasir by-election yesterday.

The result was seen as a big boost for PAS compared with the razor-thin 65-vote majority in Manek Urai as voters seemed least distracted by Kedah’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) assemblyman Mohd Radzhi Salleh quitting the party as well as showing little interest in the pledge by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to adopt the constituency as its golden child (anak emas) should BN win.

The Permatang Pasir battle saw PAS Penang commissioner Mohd Salleh Man garnering 9,618 votes to defeat BN’s Rohaizat Othman who obtained 5,067 votes after 73% of the electorate cast their votes.

While the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock was rarely brought up in the campaign, the opposition pact was certainly riding on the disbarment of Rohaizat to fish for votes, especially when revelations from the Bar Council and the candidate’s previous legal firm partner put his character and credibility into question.

In fact, several Umno veterans publicly questioned the choice of the party’s candidate, forcing BN to be on the defensive and claiming Rohaizat was a victim of circumstances.

The latest win by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) meant that the opposition pact now leads BN 6-0 in by-election face-offs in the peninsula following the March 8, 2008 general election. BN abstained from contesting in Penanti but won Batang Ai in Sarawak earlier this year putting the overall PR versus BN score at 6-1.

Opinion research firm Merdeka Center’s programme director Ben Suffian felt that BN’s play on race was becoming tiresome, turning off voters in the process.

“The BN led into the campaign by calling Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a traitor — it didn’t work because it (Permatang Pasir) is his stronghold.

“The racial card does not bring anything new to pragmatic and non-ideological voters. Given that it has been an opposition domain for the past 15 years, it shows that Permatang Pasir residents have been left out by their co-religionists,” he said.

He also called the national coalition’s campaign “lacklustre”, given their poor choice of candidate which saw Rohaizat’s entire campaign defending himself, as well as their focus on more typical issues such as the economic recession, income and rural constituencies.

He added that PAS’ campaign was commendable given that the by-election fell on a working day during the fasting month, where many voters could not come home to cast their ballots. He also stressed that the results should be interpreted in terms of percentages.

Political analyst Wong Chin Huat, who is a Sunway Monash University lecturer, echoed this perspective, calling the absolute figures “misleading”. It’s a great, great indicator,” he said.“In the bigger picture, the question is ‘Why do we need Umno?’ The argument where ‘if you vote for me, I can get federal government support,’ is old and doesn’t work anymore,” he said.

MCA central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker said the voters in Permatang Pasir could have reduced PAS’ majority by more than 900 votes if the BN had been more careful with its selection process of its candidate, adding that the public expectation on the quality of the ruling coalition’s candidate was always higher.

“There is always a moral stigma on BN’s candidate. They (the voters) were not very comfortable with the candidate. In order to gain more confidence from the voters, BN cannot belittle the voters,” he told The Edge Financial Daily yesterday.

Nevertheless, Ti said the reduced majority showed that the winning momentum for PR was slowing down, stressing that it was the best time for BN now to “take stock” and make drastic changes to tackle issues of abuse of power while promoting transparency and integrity in its administration.

“Generally, the result is still a good sign as it shows the people still think of BN. They know BN is the party that is serious to govern. It’s just that they have not swung back to BN,” said Ti, who is chairman of MCA NGO liaison bureau and a former three-term state assemblyman.

Meanwhile, DAP international secretary Liew Chin Tong said it was a “sweet victory” for PR despite facing attacks on racial grounds by the BN which included labelling DAP as anti-Islam and that DAP had caused disputes in Islamic issues in Selangor.“We have stood our ground and in fact the margin for the vote majority only declined by some 1%,” he said.According to the Bukit Bendera MP, PAS, which garnered a 5,433-vote majority in the 12th general election, had secured a 32.7% margin from the voter turnout while its popularity had only dipped marginally from the current voter turnout in the by-election, thus, it did not necessarily mean PR had lost some 900 of its base voters.

马华关丹区会主席拿督郑联科指出，

（关丹25日讯）马华关丹区会主席拿督郑联科指出，

民联在雪州禁酒采取的应对法，反映出非回教徒的权益，在民联管制之下，随时被典当。
　他说，雪州禁售啤酒类，行动党及公正党的律师团在那里？为何他们放弃获得法律保障的真理及自由？为何他们屈服在回教党之下？
　他在其部落格中说，保障非回教徒权益的宪法既已存在，为何民联却通过执法权订制出一套出卖非回教徒权益的“法令”？
　他说，法律拟定者勿忘记对人民的责任，他们是由人民选出来的，勿为了追求个人的政治议程，忘记本身的责任。
　“行动党已经出卖我们的权力及自由，从独立迄今，我们获得售卖啤酒的权力，巫裔也妥协及尊重法令，遵重权力及自由。”
　他说，行动党险象环生处在回教党的政治压力下，今日涉及的只是卖酒的课题，难道让回教党再以漠视人权，自由等，继续欺凌？
“请问在民联政府下拟定的法令条文，还有安全保障吗？”
　民联是双面人，当国阵或领袖出现问题时，他们就会打出“道德牌”，利用回教党长老协商理事会主席聂阿兹的回教教义来打击国阵。
　他指出，当巫统领袖提出大部分巫裔政治观点时，行动党领袖林吉祥会将马华标签，指马华为叛徒，当马华召开闭门会议避公开对抗时，林吉祥与行动党又会批评一番。
　他说，即使安华在槟州政府没有职位，林冠英会尊重及向安华提出咨询，而当马华向首相兼国阵主席提出问题时，马华会被林吉祥嘲笑及辱骂。”

The Star

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/20/nation/4556016&sec=nation
Thursday August 20, 2009

DAP should stop trying to please PAS, says Ti

PETALING JAYA: The DAP should stop bending backwards to please PAS and stop doing damage control by political posturing and diversions, said MCA non-governmental organisation liaison bureau chairman and central committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker.

The relationship between the DAP and PAS should also be reviewed as PAS policies and political views have disregarded the sanctity of law in this country.

“The rule of law must apply uniformly and there should not be multiple rules and regulations in 1Malaysia,” said Ti in a press statement yesterday.

He said the DAP was actually surrendering fundamental rights and liberties safeguarded by the law by agreeing to a separate set of unlawful “laws” under the pretext of self-regulation.

“The precedent of surrendering civil rights and liberties under the pretext of self-regulation means surrendering and conceding to PAS’ non-tolerant and non-accommodative rule, with no regard or respect of the multi-racial aspect of Malaysia,” he said.

“Will the DAP surrender our liberties on customs, values and practices such as our manner of clothing or entertainment, all in the name of self-regulating, and respect for PAS political will?” Ti asked.

The Star

Friday August 21, 2009

Ti: Positive result good for BN

PETALING JAYA: The outcome of the feud between MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and businessman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing will show whether Malaysians wanted transparency and accountability or otherwise, a MCA central committee member said.

Datuk Ti Lian Ker, who is a three-term assemblyman, said Malaysians were changing their mindset and approach to politics and this could influence the outcome of the spat between Ong and Tiong, who is Kuala Dimensi CEO.

“A positive outcome is going to bring many positive vibrations, values and culture to a sinking Barisan Nasional,” he said in his blog.

Ti said the demand for change of the political ethos was not only found in MCA but also many educated and professional Malays.

“They are craving for a system of accountability and transparency,” he said.

Ti said many had predicted that Ong would be at the losing end in the feud as Tiong was known to be politically connected to powerful personalities.

“Knowing that his opponent is both financially and politically powerful did not slow him down or put him in fear.

“He has been projecting a sense of calmness that no MCA president has ever shown when under siege,” he said.

Ti pointed out that past MCA leaders with “wills of steel” such as Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu and Datuk Neo Yee Pan had fallen.

“They all fell under different circumstances and to different forces but history has shown that strong MCA leaders cannot stand the onslaught of taikos, towkays and big boss.

He said Ong was ridiculed by the business circle.

“The taikos and the towkays were all predicting his downfall. The talk is that they are putting a collective stake of RM100mil to see his fall.

“There was talk that MCA members and leaders will sell their soul to bring him down. Will MCA walk down the aisle of further indignity?,” he said.

Ti said more “punches” would be coming and this was the time and opportunity for MCA to redeem themselves as a political party.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/8/21/nation/4560895&sec=nation