A second senior minister has resigned his party post in just a month in a move seen as part of a transition in the ruling coalition, reports said today.

Energy, Communications and Multimedia Minister Leo Moggie, 62, has quit as president of the Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS), which he founded and headed since 1983, with immediate effect, The Star newspaper said.

He faxed his resignation letter to the party early Wednesday, just weeks ahead of the July 26-27 triennial party elections, the newspaper quoted PBDS deputy president Daniel Tajem as saying.

Under the party's constitution, Tajem automatically takes over as PBDS president until party polls next month

A surprise move

Tajem said he would write to the premier to express the party's wishes for Moggie, one of the longest-serving minister, to keep his cabinet post for the time being.

Moggie has made known his intention to step down since last year but his sudden move to throw in the towel came as a surprise.

He is the second senior cabinet member to retire after transport minister Ling Liong Sik, 60, who stepped down last month as head of the MCA after 17 years at the helm.

Mahathir, 77, who announced a widely expected cabinet reshuffle Wednesday to adjust to the MCA leadership change, is himself due to bow out in October after 22 years in office and will hand over the reins to his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The change of guards in the National Front parties is seen as part of a transition to a new political landscape in one of Southeast Asia's fastest developing economies.

The remaining leaders

Analysts say Mahathir's peers still holding on to power in other parties in the coalition may face pressure to yield place to younger leaders under Abdullah's administration.

The Malaysian Indian Congress, the third pillar of the National Front, has yet to see a leadership change since 1979, with party strongman S. Samy Vellu, 67, still maintaining an iron grip.

In Gerakan, another key party, Lim Keng Yaik, 64, has held the reins for as long as Mahathir. - AFP