MCA president Ong Tee Keat appears to have offered his harshest critic - his deputy Dr Chua Soi Lek - an olive branch by proposing him as BN’s special coordinator.

chua soi lek pc on police report on ketuan melayu 031208 03 The new position in BN would require Chua to be in charge of overseeing the coalition’s affairs to regain four states held by Pakatan Rakyat last year.

The surprise appointment was announced today by Najib Abdul Razak, after the BN supreme council’s meeting in PWTC, Kuala Lumpur.

Speaking to reporters later, Ong said that he had met Najib twice to propose Chua for the role, but denied that the move was meant to quell dissent among the latter’s supporters.

“This is a speculative question, I think it is not relevant,” he told reporters.

Chua was not given any prominent role in MCA after winning the deputy president’s post during party polls last October, thus fueling speculation that Ong was sidelining detractors.

Though the Ong-Chua rift was relatively subdued, alarm bells started ringing when Chua revealed in an interview that he was being courted by Pakatan leaders.

Chua left PWTC before the announcement was made. He is expected to elaborate more on the matter tomorrow.

'Let court rule on Perak first'

Meanwhile, Najib today said that any talks with the opposition would only occur after relevant court cases have been disposed off.

However, he refuse to rule out the possibility of Perak BN calling for an emergency sitting soon to move a no-confidence vote against Pakatan’s Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin.

“We’ll leave that to the state government. They must decide on this matter and then discuss the matter with the sultan,” he said.

uthayakumar batu cave hair offering 170509 06 On Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy’s threat that the outlawed movement would hold mass demonstration if their leader P Uthayakumar ( pic, left ) is re-arrested, Najib said that every citizen must respect the legal process.

“We have shown that this government is considerate and not cruel. We don’t oppress anyone, as long as they respect the country’s laws, we will apply the law fairly,” he said.

Uthayakumar, who was recently released from Internal Security Act (ISA) detention, has refused to appear before the ISA advisory panel this Thursday.

Asked if the BN supreme council had discussed about the ongoing spat between PPP president M Kayveas and deputy minister in the Prime Minister Department T Murugiah, Najib replied in the negative, adding that the matter was PPP’s internal issues.