Will they step down - and when? This is the question facing MCA members who are keenly awaiting the outcome of Friday's meeting of the central committee, which is expected to discuss the thorny issue of leadership change.

The party has been openly split into two factions since May 2001, with Team A led by president Dr Ling Liong Sik and Team B by his deputy, Lim Ah Lek.

Whether the two reconcile their differences and work according to the peace plan is very much a matter of speculation at present.

At stake is unity within Barisan Nasional whose chairperson Dr Mahathir Mohamad - also the prime minister - is keen to resolve the internal crisis in the Chinese-based party before the next general election.

Under the peace plan brokered by Mahathir at the height of the dispute last year, all party posts will remained uncontested for three years until 2005. He is said to have since kick-started the second round of negotiations o­n the troubled peace plan.

Short notice

Last Thursday, Oriental Daily News reported that Ling and Lim have been working quietly in recent weeks to resume the negotiation to settle their differences.

They were said to have held several meetings to step down together to pave the way for vice-presidents O­ng Ka Ting (pro-Team A) and Chan Kong Choy (pro-Team B) to be named their successors. The report said Ling and Lim had separately met the prime minister last week.

Speculation intensified o­n Saturday after party secretary-general Dr Ting Chew Peh said the central committee would meet o­n Friday, although he also reportedly said there was "nothing special o­n the agenda".

Lim, contacted by malaysiakini this afternoon, declined to elaborate, but hinted that the meeting was a "usual" o­ne because the committee has not met for some time. He said he did not know the items o­n the agenda.

The party's central committee last met o­n Feb 27. Under the MCA constitution, the committee should meet o­nce every two months.

Popularity check?

Oriental Daily News

chief staff writer and analyst, Eng Kim Seng said the latest round of speculation could be merely be "rumours played up by some people".

"Certain quarters may just want to test the popularity and opportunities for some people to go up (in the party)," he told malaysiakini .

Some Team B leaders said that the speculation was sparked by their rivals who wanted to rally support and sympathy for the beseiged MCA leader as was the case three years ago.

In 2000, Ling announced that he was quitting his transport minister post but changed his decision after a show of support from his supporters.

According to Eng, the main push factor behind any decision to replace Ling would come from Umno and Mahathir.

He also said the party needed more time to reach an agreement for the new line-up, so that the decisions made do not worsen the dispute.

"I believe that Ling and Lim will not make an announcement to immediately retire, but may emulate Mahathir by announcing their successors prior to MCA annual general assembly in July," Eng said.

"They may stay o­n until then to enable a transitional period for their successors to take over. In this way, party members can endorse the new line-up during the AGM and there will be no need to call for an extraordinary general meeting."

Left out of the equation

Another political analyst Ding Lee Leong echoed Eng, saying the two leaders would stay in their posts until July.

"Negotiations over when they will step down and who will replace them must be resolved before the general election (due by November next year)," he said.

Ding said, however, that there may be a possibility that MCA vice-president Chua Jui Meng could take over the president's post.

"Chua is the most senior leader after Ling and Lim. By right, he should automatically be chosen to hold the top post. But at the same time, he is also viewed as the biggest challenge to Ka Ting's intention to take the post with Ling's blessings," Ding said.

However, Ka Ting is also fighting poison-pen allegations that he is involved with triad elements. Another vice-president Dr Fong Chan O­nn would have to be left out of the equation because he "lacks grassroots support".

'No immediate plan'

A senior party leader, who requested anonymity, claimed however that Ling has no plans to go out in the near future.

He pointed out that Ling had "remained calm" in the face of pressures brought to bear o­n him over allegations of abuse of power and corrupt practices.

"If I were the president of o­ne million party members, I would immediately institute legal action against my accusers, but Ling hasn't done so," the source said.

He noted that Ling's calmness was a way of defending his position in the party and the cabinet, in which he is the transport minister.

Media reports o­n Sunday reported that Ling was mum over the negotiations, but that he had pledged to contribute "if there was anything positive".

It is expected for the MCA leader to secure a pledge from Umno, the dominant party in the ruling coalition, that he would come out relatively unscathed in his legal and financial problems as a key condition for his resignation.

On Jan 6, Lim had said that he would challenge Ling for the presidency if the latter was still around in 2005. Ling, meanwhile, had maintained he had no plans to resign because his term will o­nly expire in 2005.

The next day, Ling had revealed his intention to step down as MCA president and said he had submitted his resignation letter to Mahathir last August. However, he said he would remain in his cabinet post for as long as the premier does not accept the letter.