KUALA LUMPUR: MCA's ruling faction sent out messages to turn against Ong Ka Chuan, and that could have attributed to his defeat in the race for deputy presidency.

Some party leaders pointed out that Ka Chuan was in the lead during the campaign period, but on the eve of the election, there were talks that the ruling faction wanted to bring down some state-level leaders, resulting in his support being drastically undermined last minute.

They said the messages were targeted against some state-level leaders, including those of Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Federal Territory, Sabah and Perak.

They said some people also sent out messages asking them not to let him (Ong Tee Keat) win too big, causing some of Tee Keat's supporters to vent their anger on Ka Chuan and supporters.

From the number of votes secured by Tee Keat and Kong Cho Ha, also from Perak, it could be seen that some 400 Tee Keat supporters did not vote for Ka Chuan, and about 600 delegates who supported Cho Ha cast their votes in favour of other candidates.

However, Ka Chuan's supporters refuted this, saying some had been trying to play the emotion card resulting in delegates voting on their emotions.

According to party insiders, the other reason why Chua Soi Lek managed to turn the table around last mintue was his tireless effort in making personal calls to central delegates, not just divisional chairmen, during the crucial closing moments.

Take Johor state for instance, some delegates had received three phone calls from Soi Lek, and such an effort allowed him to capture the hearts of some delegates.

Prior to the election, some had anticipated that Donald Lim would eventually dilute some of the support for Soi Lek, but in the end, to everyone's surprise, Lim only bagged 209 votes.

According to insider information, messages that "supporting Donald Lim is equivalent to supporting Ong Ka Chuan" were also sent out on the polling day, while the TV debate on the eve of election clearly put Soi Lek ahead, causing some of Donald Lim's supporters to turn towards Soi Lek last minute. (Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)