Tee Keat: I appreciate any kind deed to resolve crisis

KOTA KINABALU: Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat welcomes any “good deeds” to resolve the party crisis but he is firm in his intention to defend the MCA president’s post in the coming party election.

“I appreciate any kind deed to resolve the party crisis. From my understanding and also from our information, there has never been any intention for me to call it quits.

“So far, nobody has approached me for anything,” he told reporters after a breakfast meeting with Sabah MCA leaders and members from various west coast divisions.

The Transport Minister was commenting on former president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting’s interview on 8TV, which alluded to a possibility of Ka Ting and Tee Keat reaching an understanding that one of them would withdraw from the race for president before nomination day tomorrow.

“I don’t know what he (Ka Ting) said because I was not watching television.”

Tee Keat reiterated that he would defend the president’s post.

On accusations by Ka Ting that the party was divided under his (Tee Keat) leadership, Tee Keat said it was common knowledge that he inherited most of the party problems from his predecessor.

He said, for example, the disciplinary issue pertaining to former deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was one of the biggest issues he inherited from the previous leadership.

“The disciplinary issue against (Dr) Chua was the biggest issue I inherited, as nothing was done during his (Ka Ting) tenure.

“I had no choice but to tackle the issue and I had to do it by the rules and due diligence,” Tee Keat explained.

He also said he took over the helm of the party after the 2008 general election and a lot of people realised that the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) was a “time bomb” that they failed to address during the election.

“The PKFZ debacle was brought up and of course, Ka Ting was still president at that time,” he added.

“These are the facts; I have no intention to accuse or implicate anybody but it suffices to put the facts on record,” he said.

On the party election campaign, Tee Keat advised leaders to take time to listen to the people’s needs as they went down to the ground for support.

He said it was important for party leaders and members to be proactive in obtaining feedback to assist the people.

Sabah MCA leaders should also identify non-Muslim religious organisations as well as educational institutions that needed Federal Government assistance, he said.

Meanwhile, in his blog http://www.ongteekeat.net, he said the election of the MCA president was not a contest of personalities but doing away with the old ways.

“This election is a platform for delegates to say whether they want to continue biting the bullet now so that they can stand tall after the 13th general election.”

He said that over the past 17 months, he and the party had been hurt by certain quarters who resisted change and still wanted to live in their comfort zones.