|
Limiting term for top office-bearer should be adopted by all
political parties in Malaysia
Press Statement
by Loke Siew Fook
(Petaling Jaya,
Sunday):
The pledge by the new MCA President Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting to
work towards limiting the party presidency to a maximum of three consecutive
terms is a move in the right direction and in line with the changes of time.
Limiting terms for office bearers in political parties is certainly a new
trend in Malaysia's political landscape. DAP was the first major political
party in Malaysia to implement term limit for top office bearer. During the
DAP 13th National Congress in January this year, the delegates voted
unanimously to amend the Party's constitution to limit the term of the
Secretary General to three consecutive terms. The post of Secretary General
is the top executive position in DAP's hierarchy.
It is certainly that the DAP has led the trend. However, the difference
between the DAP and MCA in this proposal is that the DAP has implemented
this proposal without any pressures neither from the grassroots nor because
of factionalism problems and it was even proposed by the current Secretary
General, Kerk Kim Hock himself.
This is not the case with the MCA. It is a known fact that the proposal was
brought up at the height of factional fight within MCA between Team A and
Team B leaders. It was most notable that the MCA Tanjung Malim division led
by the marginalized leader, Datuk Loke Yuen Yow passed a resolution not so
long ago calling for term limit for the top post in the party and the same
call was also made by the MCA Youth.
Although Ka Ting should be given credit for publicly made the pledge in his
first week as the MCA President, he must be reminded that it is not enough
to distance himself from the allegation as the "black hand" behind MCA's
black-gold politics. He must be prepare to be investigated by the police
without any interference and clear his name to convince not just the MCA
members but the Malaysian public that he is fit to continue to be the MCA
President and more importantly as a Cabinet Minister.
Whether the MCA's President term-limit can be realized is yet to be seen but
it is certainly a right thing to pursue and should be adopted by all major
political parties in Malaysia be it UMNO, Gerakan, MIC or opposition
parties.
(1/6/2003)
* Loke Siew Fook, DAPSY National Secretary
|
http://dapmalaysia.org