KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — MCA Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong today threatened to boycott the party polls if current president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek decides to seek reelection, a move set to worsen the infighting plaguing the senior Barisan Nasional (BN) component.

“If Datuk Seri Chua Soi Lek decides to contest for the presidency then I will not contest for any posts.

“But if he keeps to his promise that he will not seek re-election, then I will let the delegates decide what post I should go for,” Wee, who is one of the only seven federal lawmakers remaining in the MCA, told a press conference at the party’s headquarters here.

Wee, who is also a former deputy minister, said the decision was prompted by his refusal to partake in an election that would tarnish MCA’s image.

“On May 6 the president had announced his decision not to stay on... if Chua Soi Lek decides to contest, this would damage the image and credibility of the party,” he said.

Rumours were rife that Dr Chua may renege on his pledge to step down after he and several other leaders aligned to him proposed a motion to censure MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) scheduled for this weekend.

Immediately after the May 5 general election Dr Chua said he will not defend his post in the party’s November polls following MCA’s worst electoral performance.

In a press conference last week, the former health minister was again vague about his future in the party, when he said he would not leave the party in the hands of his deputy whom he described as “weak” and “indecisive”.

Dr Chua added that if he were to leave the party, Liow, which is facing a move to censure him for his supposed failure as MCA’s election director in the 13^th general election, must do the same.

Today, Wee gave his express support towards Liow whom he described as a “close friend”. He called the move to censure the MCA deputy president “unwise” and pledged against voting on the motion.

“I don’t think there should be any motion of such kind. This has never been done in our history. There shouldn’t be any motion to censure any of the leaders. It is very unwise,” he said.

Wee added that if the party were to blame its leaders for its poor polls standing, all office bearers, including Dr Chua, should take the fall.

“It is unfair to blame Liow alone. If the grassroots feel that the poor performance should be blamed on its leaders, then the president, the deputy president, the youth chief, all the committee members have some degree of responsibility,” he said.

MCA won only seven of the 37 federal constituencies it contested in Election 2013, with two of these coming from Wee and Liow.

Dr Chua sat out the polls although his son, Tee Yong, won the Malay-majority Labis federal seat.

The Chinese, Malaysia’s second biggest community, overwhelmingly voted for the opposition.

Wee noted that MCA was currently in a very frail state and the infighting between Dr Chua and Liow risks damaging the party further.

“Instead of all this infighting, we should strive towards uniting the party and find ways to stay relevant to the Chinese voters,” he said.

The weekend’s EGM will also see the party decide on whether it would uphold its earlier decision to refuse any official government posts, a decision made following MCA’s record polls losses and agreed upon in the last congress.

Wee said that should the party decide to accept the posts, it should be done at all level to prevent the need to call for another EGM.