A 'compromised' executive council line-up - with representation from both feuding factions of the National Union of Bank Employees (NUBE) - may be the precursor to a new chapter in the history of the beleaguered union.

Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn said today that a "legitimate exco line-up" from both factions will handle the union's affairs pending a fresh mandate from members.

He added that members will ultimately have to decide on NUBE's leadership in a fresh election, though a date has not been set yet.

"If the idea is agreeable to both parties and the legitimate line-up is established soon, the exco can prepare for an election to determine the final team," he told reporters after the ministry's weekly post-cabinet briefing in Putrajaya.

The two factions will return for another round of talks on Sept 9 with a more concrete stand on the matter and to decide who will be sitting in the 'joint' 24-member exco.

The idea was mooted by a special task force, set up by the ministry a fortnight ago, during an 'exploratory meeting' this morning with both factions in a bid to resolve the two-year leadership tussle and numerous claims of financial mismanagement.

Mutual compromise

During this morning's discussion, both rival groups - led by former deputy president Muhammad Fauzi Shamsuddin and Abdul Jalil Hamid respectively - came face-to-face for the first time in two years.

Both groups were summoned by the ministry to thrash out the preliminaries before attempting an amicable solution with a fresh election on the cards.

Abdul Jalil came with five others while Muhammad Fauzi had his team of 24 'exco' members.

The three-member task force , headed by the ministry secretary-general Dr Mohd Yahaya Nordin, also has labour director-general Ismail Rahim and director-general of Trade Union Zulkifly Abdullah on board.

Fong, who was not present at the discussion, said he was briefed about it later and felt "quite encouraged with the initial outcome."

"Both groups have shown the spirit of mutual compromise and a willingness to work out something together.

"I hope this can be resolved in the next few meetings. I was told that both parties were quite respectful of each other despite the large group of people who attended the discussion," he said.

The minister said both groups have also abandoned their pre-condition for a fresh election.

On the suggestion for a third party to oversee a fresh election, he said the ministry was willing to consider it.

Abdul Jalil's group had previously proposed for the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) to be the observer if a fresh election was called.

'Small light'

When met after the discussion, Mohd Noor Basir ( photo ) - who is aligned to Muhammad Fauzi's group - said he had seen "a small light at the end of the tunnel".

"So far, we are on the right track. I'm quite confident that our exploratory discussion today was able to map out a possible resolution to this dispute," he said.

Rival Abdul Jalil also felt that the meeting was "very cordial with some positive signs".

"There are certain things that need to be discussed with our exco first but we'll see how it goes on Sept 9," he said.

NUBE has been fraught with controversies, including a police report lodged by the Department of Trade Union Affairs against the union for mismanagement of funds based on an investigative external audit report.

This was quickly followed by a complaint with the Anti-Corruption Agency filed by NUBE against Zulkifly.