KUALA LUMPUR: The new leadership line-up announced by MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat Tuesday came as a surprise to some.

However, during an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily Wednesday, he stressed that the new line-up was made based on certain principles and not done "out of nothing at all."

He also emphasised, "The line-up is not meant to please certain group of people."

As for why some have or have not been placed in the new line-up, he said, "You'll understand that later."

He said Sin Chew Daily was his first choice for media interview after being elected the MCA president.

Tee Keat announced the new line-up of 13 state liaison committee chairmen and central committee bureau chiefs on Tuesday.

He said he was satisfied with the newly formed team, and the appointments had been made based on the capability and experiences of these leaders in the past.

"Other than a handful of appointed leaders, most central committee members have been elected by party delegates. The few appointed leaders did not take part in the party elections except Chor Chee Heung. The appointees are all divisional leaders."

He also said he had been taking things in a "rather easy-going" manner since the party elections on 18 October until the new line-up was announced Tuesday.

However, he denied the saying that former deputy president Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy was behind the new arrangement.

"Some have said I met him outside the country. That's weird."

Only one steersman

Tee Keat emphasised that there would only be one steersman in the party's leadership core. It couldn't be two.

He stressed that in any political party under the sun, including the democratic system in the United States, or even socialism, there is always only one leadership core in the party, and this leadership core will only have one ultimate steersman.

He said the leadership core here means all the policies and agendas made by the team's leaders, and while differing voices are allowed during this decision-making process, there must only be one leadership core when it comes to interaction with the outsiders.

He felt that the MCA leadership had struck an accord on this "one and only leadership core."

"Did you see Annette Lu giving out commands when Chen Shui-bian was the president of Taiwan? The same for Ma Ying-jeou, you won't see Vincent Siew standing out and making comments. And I'm quite sure you don't see PKR's Syed Husin Ali giving out orders."

He said while a leadership core may have many different views and opinions, the party must only have one leadership core when it faces the outside world, and only the president should make important announcements.

"Take a look at the constitutions of all political parties, have you ever seen anyone leading the parties other than their presidents?"

Not a tradition for deputy president to head disciplinary bureau

On the appointment of veteran leader Datuk Ng Cheng Kiat as the disciplinary bureau chief, instead of the deputy president, Tee Keat said it was not MCA's tradition for deputy president to head the disciplinary bureau.

As for himself who doubles up as the Johor chairman, he said according to party traditions, the party president has always been Johor state liaison committee chairman.

"As for Wong Foon Meng who is to lead the Selangor state liaison committee, other than his own capability, he cannot be leading two states at the same time."

To appoint Kok Hong as Johor deputy chairman

He also revealed that he would appoint MCA vice president Datuk Tan Kok Hong as Johor deputy chairman.

"As a state executive councillor, Kok Hong has very good models in the state administration which should serve as a reference for other states. I believe he can make remarkable contributions in this matter besides his competence in foreign languages."

On the various comments made on the party's new line-up, he said, "Everyone has his right of making own interpretations. As for the various comments, I treat them as if I were reading entertainment news, like one extra entertainment page on the newspapers."

Rejecting claims that he's uprooting former Team A

On the accusation that the line-up is meant to wipe out all the former Team A members, Tee Keat said, "Those who said this thing are still unable to deliver themselves from the afflictions of history. They're still unable to let go certain things.

"Such saying will not pass the test of time. If you were to go further to discern this matter, you'll see whether it is sheer nonsense or fact."

He also refuted the claim that he had sidelined Wanita MCA chairperson Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun when compiling the new leadership line-up.

"I appointed both the Youth and Wanita leaders, namely Wee Ka Siong and Chew Mei Fun, as state liaison committee chairmen so that these emerging leaders will have the chances to absorb more experiences. I didn't have much of this kind of experience myself, as I became a state chairman only recently."

"In order to give them more hands-on experiences, I let them start with leading the states, which should give them some unique platforms."

Public consensus should prevail

He said the team elected by party delegates represents the decisions of the party. However, he admitted that there is some discrepancy between party opinions and public consensus. To him, public consensus is more important than party opinions.

Nevertheless he said although public consensus should prevail, he would only manage to narrow the gap between public consensus and party opinions after securing the standpoint of the party.

On the moral issue of leaders, he said he had never acted like a moral cop, but as a political leader, he said he was obliged to preserve fundamental social values like any other political leader.

He emphasised that preserving the fundamental core values of the society is a principle all political leaders and the public must not compromise.

"You cannot say we're targeting a specific group of people when we're battling corruption!"

He emphasised that MCA is now racing against time and there is not much "extra energy" for the party to get entangled in counter-productive and negative controversies.

Difficult to gauge a person's heart

He admitted that the greatest concern in leading MCA is the difficulty with which to gauge a person's heart.

"How fast can a human mind accept changes is what any political party is unable to grasp."

He said he did not feel particularly pressurised taking over the MCA baton. But indeed the pressure is not going to be the same as when he was a vice president, as the pressure will now come from all sides. He must take care of all things from within and without the party, especially at this crucial moment when MCA is in urgent need of change.

Giving hope is not enough

Tee Keat said MCA could not only give people hope without offering any practical solution to address the existing problems.

Talking about the fact that many people have laid their hopes on Pakatan Rakyat, Tee Keat said more often than not Pakatan tosses all the questions back to the government instead of solving the problems themselves.

"I've seen the Selangor state government under Pakatan Rakyat. Whenever the public are voicing their problems, they often toss the problems back to the federal government."

He said until this day Pakatan Rakyat still feels it is the government's duty to resolve and handle the people's problems, while their duty is only to voice up the issues.

He stressed that MCA must really get into the root cause of the problems in order to recoup public confidence.

On party infighting

Many people have said the end of party elections signals the start of party infighting, and Ong Tee Keat's new leadership line-up is set to aggravate the infighting between the opposing camps within the party.

We only have three to four years before the next general elections, but can MCA cut back the party infighting to a minimum and stand united against its external rivals?

Tee Keat replied in a very calm way, "It's not up to the outsiders to judge whether MCA is currently in a chaos."

"Factions or camps do exist in all political parties. I'll just treat it with ease."

He said factioning is inevitable in any political party, adding that some leaders have tried to paint a rosy picture even though political factioning is very much alive within their parties. To him, politicians must come face to face with their problems.

Not in a rush to adjust government posts

Now that all the state chairmen and bureau chiefs have been appointed, the next thing many are concerned about is whether there will be changes in MCA's Cabinet posts.

"Not in a hurry," he shook his head.

He said he was not in a rush to make adjustments to government posts, and has not yet submitted the final list to the prime minister.

In the October party elections, Datuk Ong Ka Chuan, who is also the housing and local government minister, failed in his bid to contest for the party's deputy presidency. The other two deputy ministers who were defeated in party elections are Teng Boon Soon and Chor Chee Heung.

Full-time dedication essential for new bureau

Tee Keat said he had appointed deputy president Datuk Chua Soi Lek as the government policy monitoring bureau chief because MCA needed someone who is fully dedicated and outspoken to oversee the government policies.

On the setting up of this new bureau, he said we should not only count on the four Cabinet ministers on the participation and monitoring of government policies, adding that the party needed someone who could dedicate all his time for this particular matter.

He said government policies and issues must first be discussed among the various component parties in a BN meeting before they are brought forward to the Cabinet for further deliberation, instead of being brought directly to the Cabinet. That is also the agenda that he has been stressing all the time.

He said, just as MCA is talking about change and restoring public confidence, the party should not merely give the public an impression that it is only concerned about the day-to-day living of the people without showing some effort in the monitoring and participation of government policies. (By HOU YALUN, YAN PEISHAN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)

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