Chua Soi Lek calls Chua Jui Meng a spoiler

Soi Lek calls Jui Meng a spoiler
By Shannon Teoh Malaysia Insider

PETALING JAYA, Sept 12 Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek called former MCA vice-president Datuk Chua Jui Meng's bid for the party presidency "a spanner in our plans".

In an interview with The Malaysian Insider, Soi Lek said that the move "derailed all previous arrangements" as his election team would have to consider the possibility of not putting up a candidate for presidency.

"It will lessen any challenger's chances. People who don't like Ong will vote for the opposition but now there are two oppositions," he said, referring to vice-president Datuk Ong Tee Keat who was the first to declare his candidacy for the No 1.

He made a series of declarations during the interview, stating that there were definitely rival factions involved in the Oct 18 party polls, although Jui Meng is going at it alone.

Outgoing president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting is reportedly backing a slate of candidates including Tee Keat, his brother Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, Youth chief Datuk Liow Tiong Lai and Datuk Wee Ka Siong.

Soi Lek's running mates are said to include vice-president Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai, vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn and Wanita chief Datuk Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Asked about the emergence of the "whisky" and "tea" teams, he replied that it was an attempt to "blacken us.

''I don't go around drinking whisky. Datuk Wee Ka Siong is not a saint," he said.

"This is all managed by my president to taint my group that we are all drunkards," he said.

"Hee Leong may have his drinking but that doesn't mean that all of us are drunk. That's why I say he is a good strategist, but this is an unfair tack. They may be drunk on the whisky of power," he said in light of the blanket labelling of his running mates due to Datuk Ling Hee Leong's infamous "eat, drink and be merry" tag.

He called this one of the many attempts by Ka Ting's faction to manipulate the election campaign. The former party vice-president said that while the "top leadership is out of the picture", it was behind the scenes, manipulating events and controlling the party machinery and even the "endorsed leadership" is already practising it.

"To say there are no factions is nonsense, I will go by that statement and I will stand by it. There's always been infighting," he added.

He stopped short of confirming his own widely speculated candidacy for president, stating that he was not confirming a post because the process was unfairly controlled by the incumbent leadership.

"In MCA it is such that once I announce, everywhere I go I will have difficulties. Delegates may not come out. But if I have not announced, the leadership cannot order delegates not to attend as I have not declared for any post. For those that are endorsed and are part of the system, they can announce early and actually get greater flexibility

out of it," he explained.

"The leadership is totally stacked against me. They have attempted to demoralise me with underhand tactics,'' he added, claiming that while other scandals that rocked MCA in recent times had been moderated by "damage control," his own sex DVD scandal in January was exaggerated to the extent that he was called a "pornographic actor."

He insisted however that he was still confident of winning over the central delegates at next month's party polls despite the fact that those associated with Ka Ting swept last weekend's state-level elections.

"We are talking to a very select group of people 2,200 delegates. The state elections have a demoralising effect on those who are not in the know. Central delegates are normally branch chairmen not Youth leaders. So it's only a perception."