The two feuding factions of MCA who are battling over the postponement of the party elections will hear the final verdict on the matter from the chairperson of the ruling coalition himself  Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad who just returned from an overseas working trip this morning.

The premiers decision is vital and will indicate whether the MCA divisional elections will kick off with nominations at 4pm this afternoon.

Sources told malaysiakini that Mahathir had scheduled for a meeting at 2.30pm with Team A led by party president Dr Ling Liong Sik to talk about the peace agenda which the camp had not signed.

Reporters have been staking out the premiers office in Putrajaya since the news broke out shortly after noon today.

Team A leaders, including 10 MCA state chiefs, had said they will proceed with elections as the dates were approved by the central committee and thus any ruling to change them would be unconstitutional.

But Team B leaders remained tight-lipped over whether they will go for nomination. They were, among others, Bakri division chief Chua Jui Meng who is the party vice-president and Serdang division chief Yap Pian Hon.

Sources added that other division leaders aligned to Team B had been instructed not to take part in nomination unless they are told otherwise. The nomination will close at 8pm.

The divisional elections fixed for April 28 are important because after the date, a new batch of 2,667 delegates from 167 divisions nationwide would have been chosen.

They will then attend the June 29 annual general assembly to vote for central leaders including top posts such as president, for a three-year term.

Team B had alleged that some 140,000 new members recruited late last year were to help certain leaders secure their posts, but Team A had dismissed the charge as a show of their opposing factions insecure feelings.

Last Friday, deputy president Lim Ah lek who heads Team B said they had signed the memorandum of peace which includes calling off the extraordinary general meeting they pushed for earlier so that the party polls from divisional level onwards will be postponed until an indefinite date.

Doubtful peace agenda

The peace agenda was put forward to both sides during their meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, chairperson of a reconciliation committee comprising four other members including pro-Mahathir Chinese entrepreneurs Lim Kok Wing and Lee Kim Yew.

However, Ling said yesterday they did not sign the document because the proposal was different from what was presented to him before Mahathir left for his official visit overseas on April 15.

Ling had also reportedly said he was only shown the memorandum seven hours after Team B had signed it and that he would need to clarify with the premier over the matter.

The party chief who has been in the post for 16 years added that he was promised something different from the memorandum he was given.

Mahathir just arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 10.30am today after a week-long visit to Morocco, Libya, and Bahrain.

Papers take a swipe at Team A

Meanwhile, several dailies in English and national language Bahasa Melayu today took a swipe at Team A.

The Umno-linked Utusan Malaysia , in its editorial titled MCA crisis resolution needs honesty, said the leadership crisis will not end if one side opts for a resolution while the other side wants to continue with war.

We have heard unpleasant claims that the mediation by the prime minister who is also the Barisan Nasional chairperson is now labelled as Umnos interference in MCA affairs.

Despite the peace agenda, one side insists on proceeding with nomination for divisional elections today. If the nomination is done, it shows that this side is rejecting the prime ministers peace agenda, reads the article.

New Straits Times , in its front-page report today, quoted a mediator as saying that those who said Mahathir and his deputy Abdullah had no right to interfere in MCA affairs had forgotten that it was the party leaders who requested for such assistance a year ago.

Furthermore, the Team A leaders seem to keep on moving the goal post, another mediator reportedly said.

A commentary in The Sun said to interpret Mahathirs peace formula as Umnos interference is dangerous and uncalled for.

It (the interpretation) could be seen as an attempt to derail and sabotage efforts to put together whatever is left of a key BN component party.

Whoever is playing the Umno card must know that he is treading on dangerous grounds, because it is not the first time it had been invited to sort out MCA problems, the commentary argued.