KUALA LUMPUR - MCA deputy president Dr Chua Soi Lek said the thought of going back to the Cabinet has never occurred to him.

"I never think of any government post. I have never asked for any post, not even in the GLCs (Government-Linked Companies), or whatever it is. If anybody thinks I'm fighting because I want to go back to the Cabinet, I think they will fall flat on their face.

"If they think I want to fight because I want to be appointed to any statutory body like KTMB, then they are wrong. You can check with anybody. I never asked for this," he told Bernama in an interview.

'I'm happy with what I have'

Instead, Chua said, he did not understand why some people wanted to link the greater unity plan (GUP) with a Cabinet position when he already made it clear that he was not asking for any government position.

"Why must GUP be linked to a Cabinet position?" he asked. "I'm happy with what I have and what I am. If people want to find fault with me all the time, they can carry on. I was quite amazed when one person wanted to be personal with me during the briefing on Sunday. He was chased out," he said.

During the briefing on GUP at the party headquarters, a grassroots leader from the party's Selayang division raised the issue of  Chua's involvement in a sex DVD scandal and was asked to leave the meeting by the other grassroots members.

Chua said that even during his tenure as a member of the Johor Education Foundation, he had discouraged his children from applying for study loans from the foundation.

Instead, they had to further their studies with other scholarships, he added.

On the meeting between the MCA and top leaders of the Chinese community Monday night, Chua said the community leaders expressed their concern and wanted the party's internal conflict to be resolved as soon as possible.

"They felt that there was nothing that cannot be discussed and settled within a short possible time," he said.

Back PM's economic initiatives

Apart from that, Chua said, the party also discussed with the community leaders matters related to the economy, and they were generally supportive of the prime minister's economic initiatives.

"They said the prime minister is on the right track, (implementing measures) such as the relaxation of the quota ruling (of 30 per cent Bumiputera equity requirement for 27 services sub-sectors) and (deregulation of the) Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) guidelines but they felt more needed to be done in order to attract direct foreign investment.

"They also agreed that we (Malaysia) are too dependent on foreign workers, which we (the MCA) have raised before," he said.

Chua also said that during the meeting, the community leaders also wanted the government to give financial aid, in a systematic manner, to Chinese schools and independent schools.

On another matter, Chua said the MCA will likely adopt direct election for all the central committee (CC) positions instead of just the president and deputy president posts.

He said the direct election system, which was discussed during the greater unity plan" (GUP) briefing, would allow the members at the branch and divisional levels to determine the party leadership.

"While the party has deliberated on direct presidential election, it's not just the president but the whole CC should be elected in the manner where more members can participate and decide on the leadership," he told Bernama Tuesday.

Umno direct election method

He said the party would adopt the Umno direct election method, which has broaden the voting right to some 140,000 party members, not just the party delegates, and is manageable and practical.

"Of course one method is using the party membership list. However, we feel that with one million members, the logistics involved can be huge. One million turnout is equivalent to one tenth of the number of voters in the general election."

Moreover, Chua said, using the party membership list could create more controversies as the list might be disputed while the logistical requirement would lead to the issue of poor monitoring system.

"So, I'm more in favour for more people involved but it's manageable. One of the mechanisms considerd is the Umno method.

"We feel that it may also work for our party, not the two-tier system as suggested by some party leaders," he said.

Some party leaders have suggested that MCA adopt the two-tier election system where the posts of president, deputy president, state chairman and deputy state chairman are elected directly from the branch level, while the vice-president and other CC positions by the party delegates.

However, Chua said the party had not come up with the final details on the system except some framework.

"When we had the unity briefing, we discussed it. Tomorrow, I will present it at the CC meeting," he added.

On fresh party polls, Chua said there was no doubt that there was a need for a new mandate for the party leadership, but the question was the timing.

'Politics is not static'

"The next party election is in 2011, which means we've got one and a half years from now. So, we need to get the system ready and amend the party constitution.

"Politics is not static. If the grassroots say we don't need fresh elections as the party is stable now, then it's well and good. But we must be prepared to face the grassroots, may be six or eight months down the line when the new model of electing the central leadership is put in place."

Chua said the CC at its meeting tomorrow would also discuss funding for the divisions to carry out their activities after the party lost several state and parliamentary seats in the general election last year.

"We will discuss whether the funding should be based on the number of members in a division and whether the party has a state or parliamentary seat in the divisional area. If there is, then we should give such divisions more funding.

"However, if the MCA elected representative is a minister or state exco member, the party should not fund the division. Instead, they should help fund the divisional activities," he said. - Bernama