A veteran opposition politician today said Umno president Mahathir Mohamad is playing the "Malay-Chinese" card relating to MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik's expressed wish to resign from the Cabinet to gain Malay support for himself and Umno.

PRM president Dr Syed Husin Ali told malaysiakini that Prime Minister Mahathir is once again playing the "racial card" by using the Ling's affair to show he is not conceding to MCA's apparent demands, including for greater Cabinet representation.

"This will show the Malays he is defending Malay position and interests as he sees them," he added.

Whenever the top Umno leader feels threatened - as in the present scenario when Mahathir saw that his "preferred" men did not make it to become Umno vice-presidents and Supreme Council in the recent party elections - the "racial card" is used, Syed Husin said.

He added that this "scare tactic" was also blatantly used in the November general election campaign when Barisan Nasional ran several advertisements intimidating voters with violence and rioting if the voters did not return the BN to power.

If what Ling said that his resignation arose from "internal party problems" as first referred to by the MCA presidential council after its meeting on Monday, then Ling should resign as party president, not just as Transport Minister, Syed Husin said..

"Even his deputy (Lim Ah Lek) and vice-president (Chan Kong Choy) had openly asked Ling to stay, which means Ling's own credibility is now in question, and that the speculation his resignation could be linked to his son's business problems can turn out to be true," Syed Husin said.

According to him, Ling should have resigned much earlier to be accountable and responsible (like Korean and Japanese ministers) for many disasters, such as the airport and port fires and mismanagement and accidents involving his portfolio.

"That would be resigning for the right reasons, not over party problems," Syed Husin said.

On a report in the Asian Wall Street Journal today that the rift between Mahathir and Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin is worsening, Syed Husin said if the news report was true, it explained that Umno is an facing internal strife, and its leader would use the "racial card" once again to divert attention from Umno's problem.

A front-page report in the Asian Wall Street Journal today said that "a potentially far-reaching policy change in Malaysia could exacerbate a growing rift between Mahathir and his long-time confidant, Daim" ("[#1]KLSE may fall further due to political uncertainties[/#]", May 26).

The Finance Ministry last week issued a directive that would remove some of Malaysia's most experienced senior executives from the boards of scores of state agencies, including state-control led public comapnies and joint ventures with local and foreign investors, said the AWSJ report datelined Kuala Lumpur.

The ruling, which has not yet been publicly disclosed, is reportedly resisted by the executives affected, and would affect public listed Telekom Malaysia, Tenaga Nasional and state oil corporation, Petronas (Petroliam Nasional).

Syed Husin said the same "racial card" was used just before Operation Lallang in October 1987 when (present) Umno vice-presidents Najib Razak and Muhammad Muhd Taib had gathered at the stadium in Jalan Raja Muda in Kuala Lumpur which created much tension.

"But when Ops Lallang was implemented it was mainly innocent parties such as opposition leaders and NGO activities who were detained under the Internal Security Act," Syed Husin lamented.

Meanwhile, KeADILan Youth chief Mohamad Ezam Mohd. Nor, also stated that the tensions between Mahathir and Daim is indeed a factor that is related to Ling's sudden wish to resign from the Cabinet.

He stressed that the Ling saga is only the start of some events resulting from a weak Umno which would lead to the destabilisation of the BN, the ruling coalition.

"Mahathir is trying to cover up the truth of a divided Umno," Ezam said.

He said, according to his sources, some of the BN component parties are now taking calculated steps ("mengambil perhitungan sendiri") to protect their own interests.

Ezam stated that the rift between Mahathir and Daim has worsened recently and the problems are linked to business interests, particularly involving Daim and other BN leaders like Ling Liong Sik.

"The significance of Ling's case proved that Mahathir will sacrifice anybody to protect his own interests, as he had said before, that there is no permanent friend or permanent enemy in politics," he said.

He pointed out that problems with the bank mergers and the appointment of new central bank governor has undermined the power base of Daim.

"Ling's resignation is a merely a power play in BN," Ezam said.