Plans in motion to remove MCA president Liow

MCA faction aligned to former-president Dr Chua Soi Lek is seeking numbers to initiate EGM to remove Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai as the party's president. FMT Reporters

PETALING JAYA: MCA is headed for yet another party crisis with efforts to challenge party president Liow Tiong Lai’s leadership gaining steam, Malay Mail reported today.

According to the report, party insiders claim plans are in motion to call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to challenge Liow’s leadership, ultimately aimed at restoring the people’s confidence in MCA.

To do this, those behind the ouster will need the support of at least one-third or 800 of the party’s 2,400 central delegates to call for an EGM and party insiders are optimistic that those who did not support Liow in the last party election more than make up this number.

An unnamed retired division leader quoted by the report said those aligned to former party president, Dr Chua Soi Lek were behind the move.

It is understood that those aligned to Dr Chua include his son, MCA vice-president Chua Tee Yong, Gan Ping Sieu, who lost to Liow in the last party elections and former vice-president Donald Lim Siang Chai as well as those aligned to former president Dr Ling Liong Sik.

The daily also came to know that at the last central committee meeting, several leaders from Liow’s camp accused the younger Chua and his supporters of organising the petition for the EGM, and that they neither reacted nor denied it.

Critics of Liow, who is also Transport Minister claim he is ineffective and had failed to get any concession from Umno, but his supporters say those behind the petition are power-grabbing politicians and nothing more.

Those pushing for the EGM want it to be held on March 5, the same day the party is slated to explain a new party election system which will see the number of voting delegates increased from 2,400 central delegates to 40,000 divisional delegates.

Once this is in effect, it would make it difficult for those pushing for the EGM to get the minimum numbers to do so.

In the last party elections in 2013, Liow narrowly won by 186 votes as Gan secured 1,000 votes while fellow candidate Ong Tee Keat polled 160 votes.