KUALA LUMPUR - The “stigma” of being linked to a sex scandal years ago still haunts MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek and the party he leads, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has said.
Ong was commenting on the reasons for MCA’s dismal performance in Election 2013, where the party had won only seven federal seats and 11 state seats, a far poorer result compared to its 2008 win of 15 federal seats and 32 state seats.
Ong said it was unfair to comment on whether MCA could have had a better performance at the polls without Dr Chua, who yesterday said that he will be accountable for MCA’s results and will quit his post between this June and December.
“I do not think it is fair at this juncture to say the situation would be less disastrous or not without him at the helm, but one thing that I could see clearly - and this is not just my personal observation, but rather a common observation among many party insiders, especially the ones who participated in the electoral canvassing - is that his stigma, so to speak, is still haunting him and the party,” the former MCA president told the New Sunday Times (NST) in an interview published today.
When asked whether he was referring to Dr Chua’s stigma over a “sex DVD”, Ong agreed.
“Yes, I saw with my own eyes how people reacted - not just among urban folk, but also rural (folk).
“People are still talking about it, despite the fact that he thought he had been cleansed by his so-called proactive owning up or confession (that he was the person in the DVD),” the five-term Pandan MP said.
In late 2007, video copies of Dr Chua engaged in sex acts with his mistress were circulated publicly, and led to his resignation as the health minister.
Dr Chua was also not fielded as a candidate in Election 2008, but later made a political comeback in MCA.
Ong was elected to head the party in 2008, but a power struggle within MCA led to a re-election in 2010 where Dr Chua won and took over as MCA president.
Throughout the interview, Ong did not put the entire blame for MCA’s weak results on Dr Chua’s shoulders, but agreed with the interviewer that Dr Chua’s “arrogance and alleged cronynism” had partly contributed to the lacklustre polls results.
He said the public were concerned with the relevance of the party, hinting that MCA should look beyond the interests of the Chinese community.
“When we talk about the relevance of the party, as a component party of the ruling coalition, people would expect you to be proactive and effective, and not just on issues confronting a particular community,” he said.
Ong agreed that the opposition had attacked MCA by using the party’s sidelining of him as a candidate for the Pandan federal seat.
“Yes. In fact, much to my dismay and certainly, this is beyond my anticipation, the exclusion of my name from the MCA and Barisan Nasional candidates’ list has been exploited to the hilt by the opposition campaigners.
“And it was not just confined to Pandan, but happened nationwide, especially in Chinese-majority areas,” Ong said.
It is understood that Ong and Dr Chua have a less than cordial relationship, with lawyer Gary Lim finally fielded as the MCA candidate for Pandan despite Ong’s personal popularity among his constituents there.
By Ida Lim
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