Although the MCA party election is still three months away, heated debates have already been initiated, indicating that the coming October party election is going to be a really tough fight that will dictate the eventual prosperity or demise of the party's future.

After seeing the party suffer a humiliating defeat in the March general elections, MCA president Ong Ka Ting and deputy president Chan Kong Choy have both announced their intentions of not seeking re-election in the coming party election. MCA members and the entire Chinese community hope that the party election will provide an opportunity for the party to shed its depressed and weak image.

When vice president Ong Tee Keat first announced that he would run for party president, former vice president Chua Soi Lek also did not attempt to conceal his intention of making a comeback. Wanita chairman Ng Yen Yen, meanwhile, also wanted to overturn the historical fact that only a man could lead MCA.

Today, no one can treat the party as his or her "private asset" like what happened during the times of Mahathir, Ling Liong Sik, Lim Keng Yaik, or Samy Vellu, staying in power for as long as they desire. As such, the tough competition in the coming party election is actually a manifestation of democracy, showing that the party does have a stable of energetic and competent leaders, which is a good thing for the party.

Having said that, those with an eye for the party's top post will tend to initiate wars of words with their opponents in a bid to win the election.

Nowadays news on the party election that we read in newspapers are all about cadre members trying to lure certain leaders to their factions, or lone rangers voicing their despise on other leaders.

The party election has been reduced to a meaningless war of words in which those from opposing factions make every effort to expose the shortcomings of the other.

We have not seen any future leader telling party members and the public how he or she is going to lead the party, to reform or transform it, and how he can restore the Chinese community's confidence towards MCA.

While MCA contested in 40 parliamentary and 90 state seats in the March general elections, it only managed to capture 15 parliamentary and 31 state seats. It is therefore natural for the party's morale to go under. The party not only must face the cruel reality that it may be eventually discarded by the Chinese community, it also has to painfully accept the fact that UMNO, the big brother in the ruling coalition, is trying to woo PAS into its stable.

In other words, there is a strong undercurrent within MCA with flourishing opposing factions, while facing the threats from powerful external rivals. If the party fails to reform and resuscitate itself, its future is doomed.

What kind of vision can the future party president bring to his members? Does he have any strategy to deal with the dilemma of the Chinese community in the areas of politics, economy and education? In view of a fast expanding Pakatan Rakyat and a slowly retrograding UMNO, which way will he lead MCA to? Will he lead MCA into saying "no" to UMNO at an appropriate time or when necessary?

The MCA president must be one who has a far-sighted vision and open mind. Unfortunately, what we see are candidates who engage in endless war of words over past incidents, who would trade their own values for any opportunity to boost their personal gains, and who smear others in a bid to protrude themselves. From the exchange of bitter words among these candidates, we do not see MCA's vision. Instead, the whole election thing has been reduced to a meaningless, noisy war of words. (By TAN POH KHENG/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)