By Lee Wei Lian and Leslie Lau The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 — Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai was appointed deputy president of MCA today after a heated central committee meeting that saw him at loggerheads with party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat who says he will now call for another EGM.
Ong also refused to resign as party president today despite losing a confidence vote last week.
The party president will now use his powers to call for another EGM to decide if the party should have fresh elections. Ong, Liow and other central committee members emerged from their meeting today without speaking to the press.
In a posting on his blog put up immediately after the meeting, Ong said he had directed MCA secretary-general Wong Foon Meng to call for an EGM under Article 30.1 of the MCA constitution to decide whether to hold fresh polls.
“The EGM/AGM will allow delegates to end the impasse over whether the central committee should seek a fresh mandate.
“I still have a long list of unfinished business involving party and public interests, like the direct election of the MCA presidency and the Port Klang Free Zone issue. It is my wish to see such issues addressed without any abrupt disruptions.”
He added that any hopes today, for fresh polls was dashed “because certain quarters are worried that I would renege on my words and decide to stay as the party president.”
“This is absolutely baseless.”
Despite being appointed the party No 2 today, a sombre-looking Liow also refused to talk to reporters.
The Malaysian Insider understands that the meeting was heated, with Liow and Ong at the centre of arguments.
As expected, Ong’s refusal to resign has split the party further.
Last weekend’s EGM was touted as a battle between Ong and Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
But while delegates voted for Chua to be only reinstated as an ordinary member they also passed a vote of no confidence against the president.
Ong is not constitutionally bound to resign as he can only be forcibly removed by two-thirds of the general assembly. Last weekend’s motion of no confidence was narrowly passed by only slightly over half of the delegates.
But the combative Ong had previously indicated he would resign if he lost the vote.
Today, he appeared to go back on his word to quit, by offering only to call an EGM.
Liow was appointed by a simple majority of the central committee today.
The appointment could potentially cause even more factions to emerge.
His fellow vice president Kong Cho Ha, who had in last year’s party elections secured the highest number of votes among the three VPs, had previously been arguing that he should be appointed No 2.
But Ong may find himself an unlikely ally in Chua, his most bitter rival, in calling for an EGM to decide whether fresh elections should be called.
Chua had earlier this week also called for fresh elections as the way out.
If fresh elections are called, both Ong and Chua are likely to contest for the presidency.
Earlier today, Ong’s supporters had orchestrated a show of support for him by organising a demonstration by hundreds of members outside Wisma MCA.
The supporters held up banners urging Ong, who is under probe for graft and who admitted to taking free plane rides from a contractor, to stay on as MCA president.
Full page advertisements suggesting the community was backing him were also placed in Chinese newspapers this week.
An online petition was also put up to appeal to Malaysians to support Ong.