Four days after the general elections, it is still not certain which Barisan Nasional's component party will head the next government in Penang. Gerakan, the party which had controlled the state government since 1969, was rocked by the news that two of its assemblymen, Lim Chien Aun and Lim Boo Chang, had quit the party yesterday.

Today, the party leadership kept a close watch on the eight remaining Gerakan assemblymen to ensure no further defections. The departure of the two Lims, who are now Independent assemblymen, has prompted MCA to bid for the right to form the state government.

MCA won nine seats in the recent elections while Gerakan picked up 10, but is now left with eight. The other BN component parties in the 33-seat state assembly are Umno, 10, and MIC, 1. Given that Penang is a Chinese-majority state, the state government had been traditionally led by a Chinese party.

A source told malaysiakini this afternoon that MCA chief Lim Liong Sik was making a last-minute effort to persuade Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Langkawi to allow MCA to head the next government. Apparently, Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon had handed his recommendations for the state exco lineup to Mahathir yesterday.

In addition, all eight Gerakan assemblymen had been summoned to Langkawi and only one had since left the island. Another assemblyman, Lai Chew Hock, who is believed to be close to Koh's rival, Goh Cheng Teik, was sent to Kuala Lumpur to avoid any possibility of defection.

MCA is also taking its own precautions, especially those who are seen to be closed to Gerakan such as Ayer Itam assemblyman Lye Siew Weng.

Meanwhile, the two Lims who sparked the crisis with their resignations from Gerakan had kept mum on whether they would join MCA. Efforts by malaysiakini to reach them on their handphones had been unsuccessful. If MCA wins the right to form the next government, the most likely candidate for the chief minister post is party state chief and Bagan Jermal state assemblyman Dr. Sak Cheng Lum.