"Liow's faction will boycott all activities organised by the Ong-Chua leadership" - screamed the headline in a printed media.

A simple guy like me is fed up with this gang of clueless bozos attempting to steer MCA right over the cliff. But someone has to speak up.

I hardly recognize MCA anymore. The central committee has categorically decided that there is to be no fresh elections as only 13 elected CC members had quit to date, eight short of the 21 required to trigger polls. Even then, these resignations are undated and conditional.

And now these rebels demand a free pass to ignore the MCA Constitution and insist that the party calls for fresh polls. This is ludicrous and an outrage!

I am going to speak up. It's my patriotic duty. Hey, MCA, wake up. These guys were elected to work for us.

How did we end up with this crowd in the CC? Well, we voted for them or at least some of us did.

But I'll tell you what we didn't do.

We didn't agree to suspend the constitution. We didn't agree to stop asking questions or demanding answers.

MCA is not a party of factions.

We're a people. We share common principles and ideas. And we rise and fall together.

Like it or not, this faction is going to be around until October 2011. Maybe we can learn something before we go to the ballot box. Then let's be sure we screen the candidates who say they want to run the party. It's up to us to choose wisely.

Liow's faction's call to boycott party functions and activities is an affront to right thinking members. If a leader never steps out of his comfort zone to reach out, meet, talk, listen and build relationships, he grows stale. His inability to listen is a form of arrogance. It means either he think he already know it all or just doesn't care.

The "thumping" defeat suffered by MCA/BN in the 2008 general election haven't woke up these renegades. Their only interest is how to do a better job of convincing everyone they are right in calling for fresh MCA polls.

Leadership is all about managing change. Things change. You adapt. The CC has decided that there is no EGM for fresh polls. You face that reality and tell the truth. I don't know if it's their denial or dishonesty but it can start to drive you crazy after a while. Nobody in the group of 13 seems to know how to talk straight anymore.

Let us have some character here. That means knowing the difference between right and wrong and having the guts to do the right thing. The motivations behind the calling of fresh polls are questionable and this has resulted in this quandary. Liow's pack of wolves' tough talk isn't courage. Courage in the 21st century doesn't mean posturing and bravado. Courage is a commitment to sit down at the negotiating table and talk.

As politicians, courage means taking a position even though you know it will cost you votes and friends.

Liow Tiong Lai has to be mindful that, leaders are made not born. Leadership is forged in times of crisis especially in times when your world comes tumbling down.

So Liow, here's where you and your 12 renegades stand immersed in turmoil with no plan for winning and no plan of stopping. You cannot continue to play a zero sum game. Either you win and Ong-Chua lose or Ong-Chua win and you lose. The winners take all.

As a party vice-president, you must be responsible to the office and work hard to unite the party at these crucial times. We must stop fighting internally. Therefore you must rise above the critics, speak and explain to the members and bring them along in a constructive, non-partisan way to achieve big things for MCA and the nation. You must show courage and leadership and not be afraid of what others think. You have to understand the office is bigger than you as a person.

Our nation is facing challenges from all sides- religious bigotry, disunity, political turmoil, and our economy is in trouble. These are times that cry out for leadership.

The 13th General Election is looming in the horizon. Everyone in BN is hunkering down, fingers crossed, hoping a 308 disaster doesn't happen again. Now, that's just crazy. Problems happen. Deal with it. Make a plan. Figure out what you're going to do the next time.

All MCA leaders must take cognisance of what Abraham Lincoln once said: "We are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained it. But it must not break our bonds of affection."

So you 13 renegades, give us a break, get off your bottoms and get to work with the present MCA leadership and move on. We've had enough.

Ronnie Tan

Kuala Lumpur