Referring to indications that former president Dr Chua Soi Lek has received support for such a move, Lee said it showed that the party, “just like Umno”, had not reformed at all.
“The recent party division elections show that party members are not willing to reform.
“The fact that Chua and (outgoing MCA president) Liow Tiong Lai still garnered support from the members while young members like Gan Peng Sieu did not gain much support shows the party is not interested in reforming.
“These are two leaders who failed the party and yet the members are still supporting them to lead the party. The party will only become worse with the presence of these ‘old’ leaders,” Lee told FMT.
There has been talk of a possibility that Chua may return to contest the post of MCA president.
It was reported that grassroots leaders in Johor had indicated the need for a party overhaul but were not in favour of the party’s deputy president, Wee Ka Siong, taking over.
These leaders appear to prefer Chua, likening him to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who made a comeback to lead the country at the age of 92.
Lee, who was sacked in 2013 after openly condemning the party, said members who were still supporting former leaders who had failed the party were only doing so out of personal interests.
“The situation where loyalty towards a leader will guarantee you a seat in the federal or state government no longer exists.
“So the only reason why they are still there to support these former leaders are the ties to the assets that MCA still has – among others, English daily The Star, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (Taruc) and Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar),” he said.
He added that even if these leaders were to make a comeback in the party, it would mean nothing to the Chinese community.
“They may have support from within the party, but it is not reflected in the Chinese community. It is proven by the bad performances in previous general elections that the Chinese community has lost faith in these former presidents.”
Lee recalled MCA’s days under former president Ong Ka Ting during which he was Subang Jaya assemblyman for three terms.
“MCA was already not doing well then, but under Ka Ting, it was recovering. Unfortunately, he resigned after MCA’s poor results in the 2008 general election.
“If he had stayed longer, the party would have regained its strength and may not have become what it is today. It’s just too bad that Ka Ting was not given more time to prove himself.
“Ong Tee Keat was another good MCA president who dared to stand up to Umno, standing up for things like the PKFZ fiasco. But he was toppled when Umno sided with Chua who wanted him out,” said Lee.
Ka Ting was housing and local government minister from 1999 to 2008 and acting transport minister from May to June 2003. He served as MCA president from 2003 to 2008.
Tee Keat, meanwhile, was MCA president from November 2008 to March 2010. He failed to defend his post in the 2010 party polls where he lost to Chua.
He was also dropped as the transport minister in June 2010 in a Cabinet reshuffle by former prime minister Najib Tun Razak.
Lee, who was aligned with Ka Ting and Tee Keat, said MCA needed to take two major steps in order to reform: let go of its stake in The Star, Utar and Taruc, and recruit more young leaders.
“They need to let their assets go and focus on reforming the party. Liow, before he leaves, should do MCA a favour – let go of these assets.
“They must realise that the majority of voters who voted for Pakatan Harapan are The Star readers. To gain Chinese support, MCA must first detach itself from the image of a party that only exists for profiteering.
“These entities are able to stand on their own. If Liow still loves the party, he should at least do this before he makes his exit.”
Lee added that young leaders such as Gan were MCA’s best bet if the party was interested in pursuing reform.
“Gan is the best candidate for MCA president. He is also not tainted and that is why he is the best candidate to lead party reforms,” he said.
Chua was elected state assemblyman for Penggaram, Johor, in 1986 and served the constituency for 18 years.
He later became Johor state government executive councillor. In 2004, he contested and won the Labis parliamentary seat and was appointed health minister by then-prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Chua’s political career climbed as he became MCA vice-president and Johor MCA state liaison committee chairman.
However, he resigned from all public and political offices in 2008 after he was implicated in a sex scandal.
Chua later served as party president from 2010 to 2013. He did not enter the party polls for the post of MCA president following the party’s poor performance in the 13th general election.