Although one school of thought opines that MCA's politics does not matter because it does not affect national policy making or implementation, another school remains passionate about what is going on in the second-largest ruling party in Malaysia, simply because of the sheer number of its membership and size.

Malaysiakini talks to Ding Lee Leong, former head of features at the Chinese-language daily, Nanyang Siang Pau and now a freelance writer, to explore the latest alignments ahead of the MCA elections in mid-August.

Malaysiakini: Since his assumption of the MCA presidency in 2003, Ong Ka Ting has been projected - on a daily basis - in the party-owned media as a 'hard-working', 'socially concerned', 'powerful' and 'intelligent' leader of the Chinese Malaysian community. In your observation and opinion, how much do Chinese Malaysians share that perception?

Ding: We cannot deny that generally those on the ground do share this perception. No one would argue that he is hard-working. The view that he is socially concerned has credence but is not as prevalent. As his predecessor Ling had centralised all power in the president's hands, Ong is, of course, very powerful.