KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 19 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has filed an application with the office of the Registrar of Societies to be reinstated as deputy president of MCA, in a move that is set to intensify the party crisis.
The Malaysian Insider was told by government sources that the application was submitted recently.
In the application to the Registrar, Dr Chua is arguing that the Oct 10 EGM vote had effectively reinstated him as deputy president.
At the EGM, delegates had approved a resolution to annul the suspension of Dr Chua’s membership in MCA.
A separate resolution to specifically reinstate him as deputy president was defeated.
But Dr Chua is contending that the approval of the resolution to annul his suspension effectively means a return to the status quo — that is he should continue as the MCA No. 2.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Dr Chua’s camp had consulted top lawyers in crafting the original resolution, and the same lawyers had advised him to apply to the Registrar to be reinstated.
In the application, Dr Chua also contends that there should be no need for another EGM to sort out the party crisis.
If Dr Chua is successful, it will mean Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s appointment by the central committee last Thursday as MCA deputy president will be voided.
At the party central committee meeting last week, Liow was appointed deputy president while Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat refused to resign as president.
Ong had narrowly lost a confidence vote in last week’s EGM but is not obligated to resign because under the MCA constitution he can only be removed if at least two-thirds of delegates in an EGM vote him out.
Instead, he is calling for another EGM to decide on his future as party president.
A majority of the central committee, many of whom were his supporters previously, had asked Ong to resign last week.
Ong, who has said he felt betrayed by his “comrades”, is now locked in a battle with his erstwhile supporters in the central committee.
The crisis in the party had started after Ong pushed for Dr Chua to be sacked, using the latter’s 2007 sex scandal as a reason.
Dr Chua had resigned his government and party posts in 2008 because of the scandal, but won election as MCA’s deputy president last October in a remarkable comeback.
Ong has had an uneasy relationship with Dr Chua from Day One, and sought to sack him.
This led to the recent party EGM.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Dr Chua is currently not in favour of a second EGM or even fresh party polls.
He wants to be reinstated and work with Ong to set a transition period for the two of them to retire.
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