6 theSun | THURSDAY OCTOBER 15 2009

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Press Digest
by Kong See Hoh
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
Some want Ong to stay
on as president
SOME MCA grassroots leaders and
members are calling on party president
Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, who lost a
no-confidence vote at the extraordinary
general meeting on Saturday, to continue
to lead the party.
However, grassroots sources told
China Press they do not believe the “re-
tain Ong” move would have any impact.
On the other hand, they said, many
party leaders, including those waiting for
opportunities to climb the party ladder,
want Ong to leave.
Most state liaison committees are
mum on Ong and of the few that spoke
up, Pahang and Negri Sembilan said Ong
should stay on but Terengganu said he
should go whereas Sabah said it is up to
the central committee (CC) to decide, Sin
Chew Daily reported.
Perak deputy liaison chief Datuk Dr
Mah Soon Han, an appointed CC member,
said he would sink and swim with Ong.
His Johor counterpart Tan Kok Hong,
who is also a vice-president, is tight-
lipped.
Tan has been tipped to take over
from Ong as state chief should Ong step
down.
Meanwhile, the Federation of
Hainanese Associations of Malaysia has
appealed to all Chinese guilds and as-
sociations to call on Ong not to quit.
Federation president Datuk Foo Sae
Heng said in the interest of the Chinese
community, Chinese groups should step
forward to urge Ong to keep his post.
However, the key Chinese groups
opted to stay out of the MCA’s internal
affairs.
Seven Major Chinese Clans Asso-
ciation president Datuk Koong Heng Sze
said it is difficult for Chinese groups to
intervene in party matters.
Jiao Zong (United Chinese School
Teachers Association) president Ong
Kow Yee said the movement would leave
it to the party to decide its own internal
matters.
Dong Zong (United Chinese School
Committees Association) president Dr
Yap Sin Tian said “it is not the right time
to comment on the matter”.
On Tuesday, nine Chinese clan lead-
ers led by former MCA secretary-general
Datuk Dr Tan Tiong Hong made a joint
appeal to Ong to stay on in the party.
More than 2,000 members of the pub-
lic calling themselves defenders of justice
placed a full-page advertisement in Sin
Chew yesterday to show their solidarity
with Ong.
The same day, a group of “Righteous
Youths” appealed to Ong to stay on in
a half-page advertisement in Nanyang
Siang Pau.
‘Why MCA No 2 should not
take over from Tee Keat’
by Giam Say Khoon
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: The MCA central committee
(CC) should not appoint the deputy president to
take over from Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat should
he resign his presidential post today, said “Save
MCA” campaigner Datuk Theng Book.
Theng told a press conference yesterday that
since Ong has lost the support of the majority
in the party, he must step down but a vacated
president’s post can only be filled by a deputy
president as stipulated under the party constitu-
tion. Furthermore, the CC has no power to appoint
any CC member to be the president.
Senate He said the committee should also not ap-
point a deputy president merely to take over the
panel president’s post because the status of former
backs deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek, who
healthcare was not reinstated at the extraordinary general
meeting (EGM) on Saturday, is still debatable.
reform “Chua was reinstated as a member and he
pg 9 should have his post back because the party ac-
cepted the fact that when the six-month suspen-
sion of Ipoh Timur chief Datuk Thong Fah Chong
was lifted, his status as central delegate and
division chief was recognised by the party and he
was allowed to vote in the EGM.
“Chua is still legally the deputy president
although a resolution not to reinstate him was
passed at the EGM. We want the MCA legal bu-
reau to clarify his status and we hope the party
will treat him fairly as it did Thong,” he said.
Theng said the sentiment among the grass-
roots was that they would not accept the CC
sharing the “spoils of war” at a closed-door meet-
ing because whoever was appointed would not
reflect their choice and the best way to resolve
the crisis was for the CC to resign and pave the
way for fresh party elections.
However, he said it is acceptable for the CC
to have an interim president provided fresh elec-
tions are held by end of the year although there
is no such position as interim president under the
party constitution.
“Another way is to call for a referendum under
Article 171 of the party constitution to allow the
highest authority, which is the central delegates
to decide when the party constitution is unable to
solve the problem,” he said.
Vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen
reportedly said on Wednesday that she and the
other elected vice-presidents including Datuk Seri
Liow Tiong Lai and Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha had
reached an agreement on who should lead the
party although no details were given.
It was also reported that Liow and Kong met
on Sunday on the same issue but neither leader
confirmed nor denied this.
Political observers believe that since there
is great demand for fresh party elections, Ong
should stay on as “interim” president until the
elections are held to ensure a smooth transition.
They said even if Ong decides to step down
because he is no longer supported by the major-
ity, he should not relinquish his post as that would
only create more infighting.
“He (Ong) could choose to stay and face
whatever criticism is thrown at him as ‘interim’
president and set a deadline for party elections
as soon as possible.”
They said that would be the best way to sta-
bilise the party.
“He is still president and he is not required to
step down immediately under the party constitu-
tion. Ong is not betraying the principle of democra-
cy because he will still step down at the end of the
day as promised and most importantly, he could
help to stop the party from splitting further.”
The CC meeting today, expected to be chaired
by Ong, will determine and deliberate the future of
the party based on the outcome of the EGM.

Talks still under way on

Indonesian maids
PETALING JAYA: Negotiations
between Malaysia and Indo-
nesia on the issue of domestic
maids are still under way, with
no conclusive agreement yet.
“There are several issues that
need to be ironed out before
we can wrap up the negotia-
tions,” Labour director-general
Datuk Ismail Abdul Rahim said
yesterday.
Indonesia has temporarily
sending its maids to Malaysia
pending a more comprehensive
deal, particularly in terms of sal-
ary and work conditions.
He said the central issue that
Malaysia was most concerned
about in the
ongoing talks was the process of
recruitment of Indonesian maids
as “problems and exploitation
suffered by these maids were
found to have originated from
the recruitment process itself”.
“Improper and unregulated
means of recruitment commit-
ted by unscrupulous people
or individuals masquerading
as registered agents operating
either in Malaysia or the source
country were contributing to the
predicament of these maids.
“In many instances, the
agents themselves were in-
volved in exploitative activities,”
said Ismail who was speaking
at a panel discussion titled,
‘Strategies to Support
Proposed International Standard
for Domestic Workers’.
Ismail also said Malaysia was
looking at recruiting Muslim do-
mestic maids from Cambodia,
the Philippines and Thailand.
He said that currently, there
are 251,255 registered domestic
maids in Malaysia, of which
230,141 were Indonesians.
Ismail said the Human
Resources Ministry would soon
table an amendment to the Em-
ployment Act 1955 to address
the woes of the maids in areas
of wages being kept by employ-
ers or kept in banks in the name
of employers.
The amendment would also
provide increased penalties for
offences against workers and
protect workers from sexual
harassment. – Bernama

In safe hands ...

Two members of the National
Civil Defence Force carry
90-year-old Bashah Yatim,
from Kampung Kuala Melaka
to the evacuation centre in
Langkawi during the Indian
Ocean Wave Exercise 2009
yesterday – the first time a
joint tsunami warning trial
was held simultaneously in
27 countries bordering the
Indian Ocean. A total of 1,270
residents from six villages in
Kuala Triang and Kuala Melaka
took part in the exercise, along
with 200 personnel from nine
government agencies.