By Lee Wei Lian

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — Proponents of fresh party polls for MCA are entangled in constitutional arguments with the party secretary general who has refused to issue a notice for an EGM that was requisitioned last Thursday.

Party secretary general Datuk Seri Wong Foon Meng had met the three EGM requisitionists this afternoon but cited a handful of articles in the party constitution to support his case.

“It is the view of the Legal Bureau that the proposed resolutions are found to be unconstitutional and unworkable because the General Assembly cannot force or direct for fresh election unless it comes within the ambit of the following articles,” said Foon Meng in a written statement to the media.

One of the EGM requisitionists and central committee member, Wong Nai Chee, disagreed saying that there was no article in the constitution that prohibited fresh elections.

“We do not agree it is not constitutional. Nowhere in the 170 articles of the MCA constitution does it prohibit fresh elections,” Nai Chee told the media after meeting Foon Meng.

According to Foon Meng’s press release, the proposed EGM failed to satisfy the following conditions:

“Article 35 provides that the General Assembly may dismiss any Party Official if approved by at least two-third of the delegates to the General Assembly present and voting at the meeting of the General Assembly.

Article 41 states that if two-thirds or more of the elected central committee members shall at any time cease to be members of the Central Committee, the remaining members shall within three days elect one of themselves to convene at the shortest possible time an EGM to elect a new central committee.

Article 167 provides that party elections will be held once every three years.

Similarly, the General Assembly cannot force or direct any Central Committee Member to resign unless it comes within the ambit of Article 45.24 of the Party Constitution.

On the proposed second resolution to nullify any appointment or termination by the MCA President after 10th of October 2009 — this runs counter to the powers conferred to the President to appoint and/or to terminate any appointee pursuant to the Party Constitution, particularly Articles 38.11 and 166 of the Party Constitution.”

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat meanwhile continued to promote the greater unity plan which will see him cooperating with his one time rival Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek to unite their factions.

The faction that is aligned to former MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai has been suspicious of the plan, and sore that Ong did not resign as he had earlier indicated and therefore pushed for fresh polls.

Ong claimed that the unity plan would help win back public support to the party given that he had the written support from 27 of the 42 central committee members.

“I believe the strong support the central committee lends to the greater unity plan will put the Party in good stead in winning back support from the public in general, and the Chinese community in particular,” he said in his blog today.

“Towards this end, the Party machinery will need to be further strengthened in time to come so that MCA will be able to meet new challenges ahead of the 13th general election. Such changes will take place with the MCA’s best interest in mind and done in accordance with the constitution.”