Can Chua tell fact from fantasy?


Stanley Koh | February 27, 2013
Free Malaysia Today

His hatred of the Pandan MP must have been so intense that it has affected his judgment.

ANALYSIS

MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek raised more than a few eyebrows recently when he announced that the party had chosen Gary Lim as the party’s election candidate for the Pandan parliamentary constituency in place of incumbent Ong Tee Keat, who has proven his winnability through five consecutive elections.

Within days, he was exposed as having told a lie. MCA’s Pandan division denied that it had chosen a candidate.

In making his ill-considered announcement, Chua offered possible reasons for the division’s rejection of Ong, which now sound like he had spun them out of his imagination.

In the two days between his announcement and the Pandan division’s “clarification” of it, one could almost hear glasses clinking and yells of “yam seng” as the opposition camp celebrated its certain victory in the constituency against an unknown candidate.

After all, Ong was one of the survivors of the 2008 political tsunami that halved MCA’s representation in Parliament.

He would have been a formidable candidate even against the highly visible and popular Rafizi Ramli, the likely Pakatan Rakyat candidate for Pandan.

We can now assume that that Chua was so consumed by his hatred of Ong that he has allowed it to poison his mind, making it unable to differentiate between reality and fantasy.

It should not surprise anyone that his indiscretion has dismayed insiders in MCA as well as other parties in Barisan Nasional. It came barely a week after he had issued a stern reminder to party leaders to keep secret the names of candidates the party had nominated.

Party members are also disappointed that their president has chosen to draw attention to his long-standing feud with Ong even as they were rejoicing over news pointing to a DAP-PKR quarrel in Johor.

In a reaction, Ong has been telling his friends that Chua’s latest gaffe did not surprise him. He said the president had been trying, for more than a year, to put an end to his political career.

If Chua’s intention was to demoralise him and his supporters by making the false announcement before the end of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration, Ong added, then he was mistaken.

“Probably, he is thinking of himself as a Cao Cao battling a Zhuger Liang,” said the former party chief.

Cao Cao was emperor of the Wei Kingdom and a central figure in the “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”. Legend has it that he was at the same time an excellent political strategist and a merciless tyrant. Liang was great as both a military strategist and a statesman.

Calculated move

Some Ong supporters see Chua’s announcement not as evidence of a failing mind, but as part of a calculated move to further his vendetta.

There is another Ong in the picture – Eric, who despite being chairman of Pandan MCA, was absent from Friday’s executive council meeting to affirm that the division had yet to nominate a candidate.

Sources said Chua had managed to drive a wedge between the divisional chief and the MP.

According to Confucius, those furthering a vendetta should first dig two graves. An MCA insider wisecracked that in Chua’s case, one grave is for himself and the other is for the party. “He will be dragging himself and MCA down into hell in the 13th GE.”

Indeed, Chua has made a public announcement that he would step down as party president if MCA were to perform badly again at the polls.

Party members are bound to hold him to that promise. Dissatisfaction with his leadership has spread to the grassroots.

Critics allege he has failed to introduce structural reforms to strengthen the party, a promise he made when campaigning for the presidency in 2010.

Some accuse him of blatant hypocrisy in promoting the political career of his son, Tee Yong. They note that during the presidential race, he accused one of rivals, Ong Ka Ting, of nepotism in grooming his brother, Ka Chuan, for leadership.

Many observers, including party insiders, say there is no doubt that Chua has failed to fulfil his pledge to restore Chinese support to his party.

Neither is there any doubt that he has managed to make new internal enemies since taking over the party’s leadership.

Whether or not he will survive as a politician is still the subject of conjecture, but one thing is for sure – many are waiting in line for the sweet taste of revenge.

Stanley Koh is a former head of MCA’s research unit. He is a FMT columnist.

  1. #1 by yhsiew on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 9:05 am

    DAP has an additional bullet to use for the upcoming GE after UMNO agreed to sponsor OTK as a candidate for the Pandan seat.

    http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=62062:pandan-candidacy-checkmate-for-soi-lek-mca?&Itemid=2

  2. #2 by balance88 on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 9:38 am

    As I have always maintained, if MCA can vote in a president with a sex scandal, a clear indication of a leader’s judgement, integrity and morality, then the whole party is filled with members of similar characters. MCA has always perpetuated the self interests of its leaders rather then looking after the interest of the Chinese.

    Whether it is OTK or whoever they put up, it really does not matter because MCA has simply sold itself to its masters and have lost the support of the Chinese community. MCA is irrelevant to the Chinese. Whether MCA is there or not makes no difference because it is a fact that the community’s basic rights continued to be eroded while MCA members enrich themselves.

  3. #3 by Bigjoe on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 10:02 am

    The basic fact is that like all UMNO/BN politicians, they are predators – CSL is a top predator clearly better than OKT. But predators comes in various intellectual capacity and CSL is not better than OKT intellectually. In fact, given his move in Pandan, he is reckless one – his emotions over his heads.

    CSL rational to ‘finish-off’ OKT is that getting rid of a threat is way to hold and rise in power. The downside of a failed kill he deems affordable to him because of his hold on the party. What he gambled on is that his party will not suffer too badly because UMNO, particularly need the party and so long as they are supported, then his recklessness is affordable. He based on this guess on Koh Tsu Koon and Gerakan still surviving even though Gerakan is basically irrelevant. CSL could not care if MCA ended up like Gerakan – its like an inheritance they would waste it all for what they wants.

    So for CSL to be the taught the lesson he deserve, the rakyat have to turn UMNO against MCA of have UMNO supporter turn against BN..

    The choice is really simple – Make UMNO pay for supporting CSL..

  4. #4 by sheriff singh on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 10:49 am

    ” Can Chua tell fact from fantasy? ”

    No. Ecstasy, yes.

  5. #5 by SENGLANG on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 11:24 am

    CSL’s priority is take care of his son. His reputation has been tainted and he will not survive longer. it is unbelievable that there are those blind members still support behind him.

  6. #6 by mauriyaII on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 11:37 am

    “Those furthering a vendetta should first dig two graves…” is very apt under the circumstances. One is surely for CSL. The other is for MCA and its master UMNO. So, the other grave should be extra big to accommodate these two strange bedfellows.

    Even an ignoramus can see clearly that CSL is and has been actively promoting and grooming his son to be another MCA towkay. What he failed to realize there are so many other wannabe towkays in MCA, just waiting to jump in and suck up to UMNO. They, being low down curs, waiting for crumbs from the UMNO table know that the membership in the CWC of the MCA is being on the gravy train to become instant millionaires.

    So, which MCA minister cares two hoots for the grass roots members or the ordinary Chinese? The MCA has always been a towkay party, unlike the DAP, ready to prostitute themselves to UMNO to enrich themselves, even if it means selling the integrity of the Chinese community.

    The coming 13th GE should see not only the demise of the MCA but the whittling down the strength of UMNO into a non-entity.

  7. #7 by on cheng on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 11:39 am

    This CSL mostly talk rubbish ! may be only 5% of his words can be true!

  8. #8 by Winston on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 12:38 pm

    Indeed, Chua has made a public announcement that he would step down as party president if MCA were to perform badly again at the polls. – End of quote

    Doesn’t that sound like deja vu?
    After the vcd was made public?
    And did he “bounce” back?
    So, what gives this time?
    Same old, same old?

  9. #9 by SENGLANG on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 3:04 pm

    MCA is sure going to the doom. All their leaders are so confuse now till they can’t differential No from Yes and Yes from No. They always believe that people will only say YES though it is obvious. Let them dig their heads in the sand. It is hopeless and they are as arrogance as usual. GE 13 is their final lesson.

  10. #10 by boh-liao on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 5:27 pm

    A medical doctor, by training n disposition, SHOULD b a person of high moral standards n professional integrity
    Dis pornoSnake is truly a DISGRACE 2 d profession, not surprising, just like MMK n LLS
    He tot he has a lot of say in nominating his MCA GE13 candidates; d TRUTH is he, as a serf (太监, 奴才), has 2 say YES, YES, YES 2 his MASTER’s VOICE

  11. #11 by boh-liao on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 5:39 pm

    Of cos, d WIFE-CHEATER always has lots of fantastic fantasies – with all d party’s pretty maids n old ladies (DNA mah, how 2 change 1)

  12. #12 by tuahpekkong on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 6:46 pm

    This person often claims that he is an Ang Mo Tik (红毛直, an honest English educated person) but I think only one part of his body is “Tik”. The worst thing about him is he regularly makes silly remarks about the DAP, like saying that even if the DAP were to win big in Perak, Selangor or Johor, a DAP man still couldn’t be appointed a Menteri Besar. May be he thinks that an MCA man has a better chance to be appointed the coveted position. At least people can see that the opposition partnership is more equal.

  13. #13 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 8:18 pm

    Soiled-Leg.

    Good riddance to bad rubbish.

  14. #14 by cseng on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 8:40 pm

    Only 1 person can win pandan for mca…. that person is …. ng yen yen!

  15. #15 by rahmanwang on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 9:42 pm

    What do you expect from a person who thinks with his dick?

  16. #16 by Noble House on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 - 11:18 pm

    CSL is anything but a source of monumental bullshit, someone who accused without basis and pretends to be right of his acts and looks like a shaved ape of no morals. The Chinese should get rid of this useless piece of shit.

  17. #17 by rockdaboat on Thursday, 28 February 2013 - 6:28 pm

    Nowadays, this porn President has become a source of amusement for me.

    None of the BN candidates can win in this seat, not even Ong TK.

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