Electioneering in MCA: Questionable means to what end? - Malaysiakini

Stanley Koh | May 6, 08 3:04pm
As the Malaysian electorate grows in maturity and sophistication, there is a natural consensus that when one assumes a public trust, one should consider oneself a public property.

Parallel to this unwritten perception, when a political party constitutionally claims to uphold and safeguard “democratic principles” in support of the parliamentary system and government, the leadership is also duty bound to exercise these principles in the conduct of its internal elections.

Yet in the annals of MCA, several of its presidential elections do no one proud, as many party veterans can recall.

The September 1979 MCA elections concluded with the president being returned to power. The challenger was floored. It was an election battle, many claimed in remembering an event as a questionable fight where rather “questionable tactics” were freely indulged in (undemocratically) to eliminate the challenger.

It was a tough, intense and possibly “dirty” contest with the former deputy president Michael Chen Wing Sum (right) challenging the former president Lee San Choon.

A local magazine, Malaysian Business, best summed up the September 1979 MCA elections, “The event was not only the most exciting in the 30-history of the party but had also contributed towards a split right down the middle between supporters of the two candidates.”

“The MCA may never be the same again, and not for the better,” a prediction which continues to hold true till today.

Character assassination, insinuations and accusations were the order of the day during the eight-day campaign. The political rivalry between Lee and Chen was said to be inevitable, an open secret which culminated in the ultimate open contest.

Lee in his capacity as president was accused of appointing his own loyalists to all important headquarters positions, which enabled him to control the party machinery very effectively. The headquarters (under Lee) had the exclusive right to reject new members (of his rivals). The rejection of new membership applications was to disallow people aligned to his rivals (in branches) seen hostile to the president.

Membership lists

Using his presidential prerogative powers, Lee appointed his favoured line-up of state chairpersons even though they might not have the support of the members. This undemocratic move also facilitated his full control of the party apparatus and the president could activate his network in the face of an election challenge.

Other undemocratic tactics employed included exercising his powers to appoint divisional executive secretaries who became “automatic” delegates and casting their votes at the party elections. It was said that no one knew at that time how many were appointed. It was recorded at the start of the annual assembly that there were 1,477 delegates but at a later stage, a total of 1,635 delegates attended who could cast their votes. Even the speaker (to the general assembly) took a partisan stand threatening anyone who objected to “open voting” would be thrown out. When Chen took the microphone to protest, it was switched off. In June 1981, Michael Chen left MCA and joined Gerakan, led by former MCA reformist leader Dr Lim Keng Yaik.

The eruption of another MCA leadership crisis in 1984 between acting president Dr Neo Yee Pan and Tan Koon Swan saw a repeat of the undemocratic and suppressive moves against the challengers. The swift and undemocratic expulsion of the Tan’s leadership faction was reminiscent of a similar move by former president Tan Siew Sin using his wide powers to expel Lim Keng Yaik in 1973 (before the latter could challenge Tan in August during that year).

In the Neo-Tan crisis, the “membership master-list” was the focus of dispute. Repeated requests from the Tan faction for the list were rejected and the headquarters seemed determined to cover up the “phantom” issue, suspected to have inserted as many as 120,000 dubious names created by those supporting the incumbent leadership.

Neo claimed the phantom issue was not a new one and insisted (the issue) should be resolved within the mechanism of the party. Two types of “phantoms” were later discovered. The first type consisted of fictitious Chinese names bearing identity card numbers of Malays and Indians copied from electoral rolls of voters from various states. It also included Malay and Indian trade union members used by some divisions in forging memberships. The second type included Chinese who had died several years earlier but were recorded to have applied for membership in 1983.

Effective strategy

It was a number game in politics. Pro-Neo supporters (phantom manufacturers) could then control a division through a small minority of their supporters and could marshal enough delegates (through phantom members) to control the whole party against Tan faction. The elimination process could take place, out-voting Tan supporters from the branch and then onto the division.

Manipulating the membership list under a “close system” and not allowing anybody (except those responsible for operating the system) was an effective strategy against challengers in a party election. Unlike Umno having a fixed number of delegates per division (10 elected and the chairperson as automatic delegates), the MCA electoral system is based on membership strength (formula in calculating the number of divisional delegates to the national assembly).

During the MCA’s leadership crisis in 2001 which split the party into factional team “A” and “B”, led by Dr Ling Liong Sik and Lim Ah Lek respectively, the approval of new memberships and the lack of transparency in approving new branches became a contentious issue.

During a debate and deliberation on approval of new memberships at a central committee meeting at the height of the factional leadership tussle, Chan Kong Choy (formerly in team “B”) complained that the then National organising secretary Ong Ka Chuan (Team “A”) had refused to furnish details of branches with new membership applications in spite of his request for it for many months. Chan had complained that there was no transparency in the approval of new memberships and no details from which branches these memberships were from.

Ong Ka Chuan has since vacated the National Organising Secretary post but was appointed by his brother, Ka Ting, as Secretary-General soon after the August 2005 party elections. Ka Chuan also currently chairs the MCA Steering Committee in the conduct of the party elections scheduled in October this year.

Defending Kong Choy who was aligned to Team “B” then, Wong Mook Leong at the central committee meeting refused to accept Ka Chuan's excuses for not being able to give the breakdown of membership approvals at branch level.

Wong argued, “We (team B) did not say you (Ka Chuan) did not follow a customary practice…such practice does not mean you cannot change forever. When such practices clash with logic, only the party can progress.”

“I have instead thought that if you have the figures (membership applications) at divisional level, you must have the branch figures (breakdown)…only that you do not want to give, that is all, you don’t tell me you don’t have!” Wong chastised Ka Chuan after having lost his patience.

To-date, since 1984, the membership list continues to be a major target of dispute between the incumbent leadership and challenging individuals in the party.

New allegations are surfacing against undemocratic tactics in not approving new branches belonging to “suspected” rival factions and individuals not supportive of the incumbent leadership. Lack of transparency in approving new branches aligned to the incumbency supporters of the current president.

Main body elections in October

Other accusations involve “unfair, unjust” and irregular practices emerging from the grassroots have also alleged the national leadership for deliberately “invalidating” branches by approving less than 50 (the minimum requirement) in order to prohibit or “cripple” these branches from taking part in the election process. According to some grouses, this “evolved” new tactic was interpreted to reduce the number of divisional delegates from “rival branches” participating in the election process at national level.

During the Liong Sik-Ah Lek leadership tussle, a compromise was made in setting up a “verification committee” to prevent registering of “phantom” members following numerous written complaints faxed to MCA headquarters by college students who were “made” MCA members without their knowledge and consent.

Perhaps perceptively, according to political observers who believed that the most damaging aspect of the allegations on the whole electioneering process besides lacking transparency and shrouded “secrecy” on the membership list based on the fact that the party headquarters had exclusively “outsourced” to a private company, “Ezyone Systems Sdn Bhd” to compute, handle and manage the master membership list under the strict supervision of the president or his appointees.

The distribution of eligible membership lists (meaning, members-in-benefit with paid up subscriptions as at December 31, 2007 with voting and contest rights) were carried out on April 27 last month. An appeal for complaints is set before May 12 this month. The branch and divisional elections are scheduled on June 15 and July 27 this year respectively.

The state conventions are scheduled in the months of August and September before the presidential and central committee elections on October 18 and 19, 2008.