Umno is closely monitoring the ongoing MCA crisis as it has the potential to affect the former and the ruling Barisan Nasional, said Umno vice-president Muhammad Muhd Taib today.

As a major component party, the crisis in MCA could also affect the BN coalition, he told malaysiakini .

However, he added, the Umno leadership is confident that the warring factions would resolve the crisis amicably.

The Umno leader also stressed his party would not get involved in the quagmire which erupted in public following MCAs controversial acquisition of two Chinese dailies last year.

As a guiding principle, component parties in BN always mutually respect each other. As such Umno will not implicate itself in the current MCA internal crisis, he said.

Asked to comment on MCA Team Bs decision to hold an extraordinary general meeting at the Putra World Trade Centre and not at the party headquarters, Muhammad said: Anybody can hold their functions there. We have no objection to it.

The PWTC building situated in Kuala Lumpur, is owned by Umno and also houses the partys headquarters.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Putrade Property Management Sdn Bhd, which manages PWTC, said they have not received any bookings for an EGM.

The spokesperson added that the management does not impose any specific time-frame for bookings.

Independent committee

Yesterday, MCA Team B leaders said they will hold the EGM on April 21, defying party secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Pehs decision not to call for one.

Team B is seeking the setting up of an independent committee to verify its disputed party membership list which is claimed to be tainted with phantom members.

The faction is also seeking to revoke the suspension imposed upon the partys Youth wing since last December.

Team B leaders had submitted their requisition for the EGM last Friday by providing signatures of 810 delegates which meets the constitutional requirement of at least one-third of the 2,384 party delegates, to call for an EGM.

In response to the requisition, Ting later announced that the EGM would not be convened as 49 out of the 810 delegates who had originally backed the EGM have pulled out from the petition.

The party secretary-general also said the resolutions that were to be tabled at the proposed EGM also have the effect of amending the party constitution and therefore must be approved by the central committee or at the divisional assembly beforehand.