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The MCA Crisis: The Ling Countdown Begins

The fugitive business man, Dato' Soh Chee Wen, returned home to a media circus, face trial. He also missed his favourite dish, fish head curry. Mamak prepares it better at home than anywhere else. He misses Mamak the chef, and Mamak the politician. Mamak the politician put in train the chain of events that enables Dato' Soh to enjoy the culinary delights of Mamak the chef. He puts on a bold front, insists the politician Mamak aka the Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Mahathir Mohamed, did not strike a deal so he could enjoy the chef's fish head curry and unnerve his rotting fish head aka MCA president, Dato' Seri Ling Liong Sik. There is. The media circus is staged.

Whatever spin he puts on his arrival, it is to force Dato' Seri Ling off his political perch. He has made a deal, by whatever name you might call it, and however strong his denial. He was arrested on arrival, since there is a warrant of arrest out after a corporate and financial scam, is released on a RM2 million bail, put up by a retired air force chief. Since the prosecution intends to call 300 witnesses, others trembling on the knife edge include bankers, business men, politicians. Some of the biggest names in the land are mentioned.

The target is Dr Ling, who ignores his arrival and professes an unconcern that only reflects his nervousness. The Star newspaper reports his arrival as a calculated damage control. Dato' Soh could not have come at a more inconvenient time. Dr Mahathir forced the MCA leaders to agree to a standoff in which the whole central committee would be returned unopposed, and agree to a set of rules which Dr Ling and his nemesis, the deputy president, Dato' Seri Lim Ah Lek, which include their resignations by a set date. Dr Ling widened the ban to all party positions in the divisions, women and youth wings. That split the party even more.

The coming party congress could turn out to be anything but peaceful. The realisation dawns on MCA that Dato' Soh returns as agent provacateur to separate the rotting fish head from the MCA fish. That unless the MCA finds a quick solution to ward off another bloodletting, its future is in doubt. Thought not at the next general elections. When Dr Ling's predecessor, Mr Tan Koon Swan, faced an array of criminal charges before the 1986 general elections, Dr Mahathir promised to look into them but only after the polling. He was told to ensure the MCA slate romped him. Mr Tan told friends he could call or meet the Prime Minister anytime he wanted. Once the elections was over, Dr Mahathir ignored him, and when they finally met in Bangkok, said he would not interfere in a criminal prosecution. This is what Dr Ling faces.

Dato' Soh's wheeling and dealing had him oscillating between wealth and bankruptcy several times in his life. He was a bankrupt at 24, a dato' at 28, a well-regarded business man a few years later and a fugitive at 36. Dr Ling appointed him to his Presidential Council as he shepherded Ling Junior, Hee Liong, into a business career. The younger Ling got RM1.2 billion in bank loans to launch his business career. But the relationship soured, the fledgling Ling empire collapsed in a sea of debt, the two men parted acrimoniously, trading insults and law suits. It was the forced sale of Dato' Soh's share portfolio parked with a stockbroking firm that accelerated the 1997 stock market decline. This is expected to come out in the trial later this year and early the next.

Dr Ling puts out that Dato' Seri Lim, not he, sold out the MCA to UMNO, that he objected to Dr Mahathir's role as the MCA 'dalang' (puppet master). He is disbelieved. If he had seen the writing on the wall, he would have stepped down gracefully and spared the MCA and the Chinese community its unneeded crisis of conscience and confidence. But stepping down gracefully is not a virtue National Front (BN) party presidents acquire. They insist upon a life-long lien on their posts, and would only depart only when forced to. It does not matter is the party is UMNO or the PPP. But it the UMNO president who holds the trump card. He drops an unpopular component party president for his own ends, and drops him when it is dangerous to his political health.

The MCA's purchase of the Nanyang Group of newspapers directly caused Dr Ling's downfall. He would not consult either with his Presidential Council nor obtain his central committee's approval. When challenged, he insisted he need not nor answer their worries. He pledged the Star newspapers as security for the RM400 million bank loan to buy the Nanyang Group. In the kerfuffle, he could but barely get party approval in an extraordinary general meeting.

It split the MCA so sharply that the party elections could well have turned bloody. Dr Mahathir saw this, and ordered the MCA leaders to agree to "no contest" for all party positions at the MCA congress in July. Dr Ling, after his Faustian bargain with Dr Mahathir, now struggles to get out of it. This annoys the Prime Minister enough to insist he should leave. But the shrewd politician he is would rather that someone else do that. This is where Dato' Soh comes in. The message sinks in that Dr Ling's relationship with the MCA is as AIDS patient's with his immediate community.

M.G.G. Pillai
pillai@mgg.pc.my