but Liow says 'leave us alone'

PETALING JAYA - The MCA is capable of resolving its leadership crisis without interference from anyone, its vice-president, Liow Tiong Lai, said today.

The party could also solve the problem quickly through its constitution and the high discipline of its members, he said.

"I see that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak also wants the MCA to be strong and to find a solution quickly. So we promise to resolve the matter quickly to help the BN.

"The prime minister has placed full confidence in us to resolve the problem," he told a news conference after opening the information technology centre of pharmaceautical and healthcare company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) here.

Oct 15 meeting to settle problems

Asked whether referring all problems through the constitution would tantamount to trivialising the wishes of the central delegates at Saturday's extraordinary general meeting (EGM), he said: "What's important is that the central committee is meeting on Oct 15 and whatever problems can be settled out at that meeting.

He hoped that the party members would be calm and stop speculating and allow the party to resolve all the issues through the central committee.

At the EGM, the central delegates passed a vote of no confidence in party president Ong Tee Keat, voted to reinstate Dr Chua Soi Lek as a member but rejected the resolution to reinstate him as deputy president.

The EGM outcome has left MCA at a stalemate and prolonged the leadership.