MCA ELECTION

It is a very interesting party election with very small margin I guess. For the presidential post, 3 candidates are vying for that. They are incumbent president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, former president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting and former deputy president Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek. This is a very competitive competition. 3 of them don’t really have majority support. Since it is a 3 corners fight, it will depend on who gets the most votes.

Ong Tee Keat might have the support from a lot of ordinary Chinese community for PKFZ issue. He has been viewed as a hero who dares to fight against big powers and fight against corruption. However, he might not be as popular as he is among MCA delegates. MCA delegates are elected among the top leaders or those who have great influences in that division. Usually, this group of delegates might have personal interests in the outcome of the result. Those who win the election might determine the fate of certain group of people. Ong Tee Keat at the same time is seemed to be a person who doesn’t know how to carry out himself (Chinese saying of “Bu Hui Zhuo Ren” and “Dang Ren Cai Lu”). This might not favour a significant number of voters.

Chua Soi Lek on the other hand might have the number of support. This can be seen through how he pushed for EGM last time. He was able to garner about 800 signatures to push for that EGM. If the delegates are not pro-Chua Soi Lek, they might not dare to sign it. Their name will be known public. My friend told me that the signatures might include those who anti-Ong Tee Keat. However, personally I don’t view that as a main concern. I don’t feel that the number is that big. Furthermore, those who anti-Ong Tee Keat have no choice but to vote for either Chua Soi Lek or Ong Ka Ting. Mathematically, only portions of the signature are anti-Ong Tee Keat. From that particular group, only another portion will vote for Ong Ka Ting. That is why I don’t see that as a big problem.

For Ong Ka Ting, a loyal veteran said before, his fraction is going to split MCA even more. It is the first time such a former president re-stands for a party election. I don’t really see he has lots of influence when he was the president. Furthermore, he is lucky to get that post because of MCA crisis between fraction A (led by Tun Ling Liong Sik) and fraction B (led by Tan Sri Lim Ah Lek). Personally, I don’t really see him to have lots of support in this election.

In a nutshell, personally I guess that Chua Soi Lek will win this MCA election. This guess might not be accurate since the election is so competitive. For deputy president post, 2 candidates who fight for the post are former vice presidents Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai and Dato’ Seri Kong Cho Ha. Liow Tiong Lai is aligned with Ong Ka Ting while Kong Cho Ha is the running mate for Chua Soi Lek. Other than personality will determine their fate, their partnership with presidency candidate will affect their winning too. Liow Tiong Lai seems to be more famous than Kong Cho Ha. However, his action of forcing Ong Tee Keat to comes down as president has been viewed as a traitor’s action. This might affect his chances of winning. Kong Cho Ha might not have big issue to help or make him loses the votes. Basically for me, it is more to whether people still wants a leader like Liow Tiong Lai and the effect of their running mate. I guess Kong Cho Ha will be the victor.