“I am open to criticism for the benefit of the party. In fact, if those who are dissatisfied did not come forward, I wouldn’t know how they felt, (making it challenging) for me to rectify any shortcomings.

“For me, if there’s a need to protest to express dissatisfaction, I am open to receiving feedback and criticism, as long as it’s not excessive,” he told reporters after the Bersatu associate wing convention yesterday.

Yesterday, FMT reported that several Bersatu associate wing members held up signs calling for Chong to take responsibility for the losses experienced by the wing’s candidates in the last general election and the six state elections.

As Chong was delivering his keynote address at the Ideal Convention Centre, one of the members shouted, “Chong Fat Full, resign”.

The signs they had brought were then confiscated by the convention’s secretariat.

Several people also exited the hall as soon as Chong finished speaking, in the incident which took place in front of Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin and Bersatu Supreme Council member Saifuddin Abdullah.

Bersatu associate wing information chief R Sri Sanjeevan did not rule out the possibility that the disturbance was created by non-members.

“Only four individuals caused a commotion, and whether these four are our members or not, I’m not sure. They raised the signs (urging Chong to resign) and then left the convention,” he said, claiming that those involved could have been paid by external parties.

“If there are claims that there’s division within the associate wing, I don’t see any internal divisions. We are only two years old, this is our first convention, and it went well.”