Once again, MCA President is playing with his “tragic hero” strategy. He claimed to have been “ambushed from all directions” before the party crisis and now he has come out with a new tagline-the sovereignty of MCA- claiming that someone inside the party had attempted to mobilise massive manpower and resources to topple him and get rid of his transport minister post.

If Ong was so great to defend the party's sovereignty, he would not have brought the “greater unity plan” with MCA Deputy President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek to meet the Prime Minister, asking for the PM's blessing. If he really did not want outsiders to intervene the party's internal affairs, why did he write a letter to the Registrar of Societies (ROS) then? Ong's sovereignty is having a double standard. If MCA really loses its sovereignty, Ong would be the cause.

Perhaps, Ong's die-hard supporters and the public who do not understand politics much may praise and appreciate his “confrontational” tough style. But MCA members must open their eyes ans look carefully. If they allow such a quirky president to recklessly and irrationally fight UMNO and Chinese groups, unless MCA withdraws from BN or stops engaging in politics, otherwise, how is MCA going to represent the Chinese community in the government?

Ong claimed that someone intended to remove him from the transport minister post and it is believed that only the PM is having such a power. His words have tarnished Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's prestige as the BN Chairman. What conditions do MCA have to bargain with UMNO when UMNO is able to retrieve Malay votes while MCA has lost Chinese votes?

If the Central Committee does not stop the President, who has totally lost his rationality, there will be two possible outcomes:

1. MCA wins the so-called “dignity and sovereignty” that do not allowed any intervention (mediation) from outsiders, but UMNO is tired of it and stops the mediation work, leaving the MCA crisis to linger on just like that. UNMO may look for another Chinese party to replace MCA and MCA will be marginalised in BN.
2. The President's sentimental remarks and the never-ending party crisis eventually cause the dissatisfaction of BN and UMNO members, MCA may be expelled from BN. What can MCA do after leaving BN? Pakatan Rakyat will definitely not accept a broken party. Under the two-line system, MCA, which has been established for 60 years, will be left aside.

MCA leaders should not think that there is still time and space for them to deal with the infighting. UMNO has already launched its battle with Paktan Rakyat for the next general elections. For example, calling its members to launch a demonstration in front of the Penang State Assembly building and non-governmental organisation to gather in front of the Kelantan State Government building. BN has thrown itself into the battle, how free UMNO leaders will be to care for the MCA crisis?

Pakatan Rakyat is going to hold its first convention in mid-December and the Pakatan Rakyat constitution will be launched. Once Pakatan Rakyat is ready, UMNO will as well order other BN's component parties to get well prepared. The fragmented MCA will be a burden at that time. A wounded soldier that “cannot be saved” can only be abandoned by the roadside.

Under the two-line system, the reality is more brutal than ever. MCA has been standing on the junction of life and death. Does it worth it to bury the whole party just because of one or two persons? (By LIM SUE GOAN/Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/Sin Chew Daily)