SHAH ALAM - MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong has brushed off the allegations made by certain parties that he is merely running away from his responsibilities after announcing his resignation as the party's Johor Bahru division chief.
In a Facebook post yesterday, the Ayer Hitam MP said he made the decision to promote new talents who would be MCA's next generation of leaders and take the party to new heights.
He was responding to one of the comments made by a social media user who said he was stepping away from his responsibilities when he was supposed to groom new talents.
"I made the decision to field 10 new candidates out of the 15 MCA candidates that vied for the Johor state seats during the Johor state election.
"Isn't this a commitment to preparing the party grassroots to new heights?," he said.
On Sunday, Wee announced his resignation as the Johor Bahru division chief through a statement he posted on his Facebook page.
He said he was handing over the baton to the newly elected chairman chosen by the party members to shoulder the responsibility.
Wee said moving away from the post was not a new or novel thing for a sitting party president to do as previous presidents have served without holding state or divisional posts.
In fact, he said this would actually allow the party's top leadership to focus on matters of a federal or national dimension.
"Throughout MCA's recent divisional and branch elections, there have been numerous changes. Leaders have stepped down and gave way to new faces, not just the Johor Bahru division. This is a good thing.
"Another important misconception to clear up is that I would not be able to contest other party positions by not helming the division chairman’s post. This is not true.
"According to the party constitution, as an incumbent central committee member, I am automatically made a central delegate. On top of that, I have also been elected as one of the 16 central delegates under the Johor Bahru MCA division.
"Thus, I am still eligible to sit for re-election as MCA president for another term. This is not in question at all. I hope this puts to rest any misgivings about my decision on the Johor Bahru MCA division party elections," he said.