MCA deputy president Lim Ah Lek's reappearance on the political scene can be viewed as a way to unite and strengthen the divided party, its Youth secretary-general Liow Tiong Lai said.

Lim (photo) reportedly said earlier that he would consider becoming active in politics again if his involvement in the next general election election would make the ruling government Barisan Nasional more powerful and attract more Chinese Malaysians to support the coalition.

A former human resource minister and parliamentary representative of Bentong, Lim revealed in Monday's papers that he had received numerous suggestions from BN leaders including MCA leaders and members, urging him to re-enter the political arena.

Contacted yesterday for comment, Liow said he is optimistic of Lim's return and is glad that the latter is giving some thought to the matter.

'Good leader'

"He is a good leader and well regarded by the people. Everything that he does is in the interest of Barisan Nasional and MCA. His comeback will also help BN Chinese-based component parties and the front gain more votes," he said.

"His return will also help to unite the party," he added.

Prior to the 1999 general election, Lim announced that he would not be running for public office anymore, saying that he preferred to spend more time with his family and have a simpler life.

However, he did not renounce his post in the party as the deputy president.

Asked what constituency Lim might be contesting in whether it would be his former constituency Bentong, Pahang, or any of the new ones in the state Liow, the current Bentong MP well known for his allegiance to Lim, said this was not the main concern.

"No matter whether he would be contesting in Bentong or the new constituencies, the key thing is that he is willing to come back. This is the main point for the grassroots."

According to the redelineation plans of the Election Commission revealed last month, Pahang will have three new seats in Parliament, making it a total of 14, and four new state seats, increasing them to 42.

Liow said that, according to feedback he obtained, the MCA youth and Bentong residents are rooting for Lim and excited that he might be returning to active politics.

Major dailies today reported Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob as saying that Lim could contest anywhere in Pahang because the latter is accepted by many people in the state.

The daily quoted a "reliable source" as stating that Lim was likely to contest in the new Indera Mahkota constituency.

'Can't comment'

When contacted today, Lim declined to go into the details of his statement.

"Anything I would like to say is already reported. I can't comment on anything again, otherwise, it will become a disciplinary issue," he said in jest, referring to the MCA code of ethics revealed last Monday.

The guidelines spelt among others that, all members shall not bring any disagreement or differences to the press, and nor should they criticise or belittle the party or its leaders in the public.

Meanwhile, MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik was quoted in a few newspapers today as saying that "it is Lim's right to choose whether he would like to become active in politics again since MCA is a democratic party".

MCA, which claims over one million members and is the second largest party in the ruling coalition, was split openly into two camps Team A led by Ling and Team B led by Lim since it took over two Chinese newspapers last year.

In the run-up to the party election in July, Team B had claimed early this year that certain leaders recruited 'phantom' members to boost their standing in the party. The anti-Ling faction had then threatened to expose these leaders.

The bad blood grew worse to the point that Prime Minister and BN head honcho Dr Mahathir Mohamad had to intervene in the feud in April. To cool both sides down, he proposed a peace plan, which was to freeze all party leaders in their posts for another term.