KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek is willing to give up his post for Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai if the vice-president makes it clear that he wants the No. 2 post.
Dr Chua said he was willing to step down from the post if such a move could ensure stability and unity in the party.
“He just needs to say ‘I, Liow Tiong Lai, want your (deputy president) post’ and I will quit and give the post to him.
“Please tell us what you want and make your position clear once and for all. If it (relinquishing the post) can end the party crisis, I am willing to do so,” he challenged Liow at a press conference here on Wednesday.
Dr Chua also reminded Liow that he was elected deputy president by the central delegates while Liow was chosen by the central committee.
He said Liow had contacted him before the Oct 15 central committee meeting and he told the latter not to fill up the deputy president post as he had written to the Registrar of Societies to clarify the matter.
“I told him that if the ROS decides that I am the deputy president, he will get very embarrassed,” he said.
He also questioned Liow’s intention in changing his stand to go against party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat after the Oct 10 extraordinary general meeting.
“Why did none of you stand up to support me when I was fighting against Ong Tee Keat and say that the president cannot pakai (is useless) anymore?
“Why is there a sudden change of tune when the vote of no-confidence is passed against the president?” he said, referring to Liow and his group.
On whether his move to step down from the post would affect the greater unity plan, Dr Chua said: “They think that maybe I am a hindrance to party unity. Maybe they think that Liow and Ong together are ‘unity’.”
To him, he said, party unity included Ong, himself, Liow, vice-presidents Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, Tan Kok Hong, Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong and Wanita chief Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun. Asked whether Ong was aware about his remarks at the press conference, Dr Chua said: “I don’t know. When I see the press, I don’t have to get permission from anybody or consult anyone.”
Dr Chua also clarified that he had written to the ROS to ask if he was still the legitimate deputy president.
“In its reply, the ROS said the post was not vacant and the letter was read by the president and secretary-general (Datuk Wong Foon Meng) to the central committee at last Tuesday’s meeting,” he said.
He said 22 central committee members had voted to accept the ROS’ decision at the meeting while 12 others, including Liow, voted against it. Four others, including himself, abstained from voting.
In Parliament, when asked about Dr Chua's statement, Liow said he had written to the Registrar of Societies on Nov 9 to interprete his status as the party's deputy president together with the minutes of the central committee meetings held on Oct 15 and Sept 19, and the results of the extraordinary general meeting on Oct 10.
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