Registrar of Societies (ROS) Dahari Ibrahim will reveal the fate of the crisis-ridden Parti Bansa Dayak Sarawak (PBDS) later this week.

Local English daily, The Borneo Post today quoted Dahari as saying that he has completed his investigations into the leadership tussle and will reveal the findings on Friday or Saturday.

Last weekend, the Barisan Nasional (BN) supreme council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad decided to wait for the ROS' decision before including the party in future BN meetings.

PBDS has been rocked by a power struggle between its newly-elected president Daniel Tajem ( left ) and former information chief Dr James Masing .

Masing ( right ), a state minister, was elected president by his own faction at a separate triennial delegates conference, leading to a complaint being lodged with the ROS.

Speculation rife

News of the impending decision has ignited speculation. One question being asked is whether the ROS will act under Section16(1) of the Societies Act to give the two factions a month to settle their dispute.

If they fail to do so within the stipulated time or in extended time, the party could face de-registration.

When malaysiakini met leaders from both factions, their comments indicated that neither faction was willing to budge from their current position.

However, it would be a different scenario if there is high-level intervention from the BN - for instance, if Mahathir ( photo ) formulates a peace plan similar to the one he prescribed for MCA during its internal crisis.

Earlier reports suggested that Tajem's faction was going to meet Chief Minister and state BN chief Abdul Taib Mahmud today.

However, it is learnt that this has been "postponed" because of the impending decision. Besides, Tajem is unwell and has been admitted to hospital.

Political observers said another possible outcome would be for the ROS to recognise that the office-bearers linked to Tajem have been elected in accordance with the rules, procedures and party constitution as they had claimed in their submission to the ROS.

Llawyers advising Tajem faction's were confident that this would be the thrust of the ROS' decision.

They cited as precedence the decision made in a crisis that had plagued Parti Bersatu Sabah, which saw its president Joseph Kurup's election being upheld.

This, however, led to his rival Dr Jeffery Kittingan and his supporters leaving the party.