Embattled Sarawak National Party (Snap) president James Wong Kim Min returned home early this morning after a knee operation in Australia, vowing to stay on as party president as long as members still want him.

Wong, 80 — the country's longest-serving politician — looked a little tired and frail after the long flight from Australia via Kuala Lumpur.

The besieged politician who was accompanied by his wife, landed about an hour behind schedule, and was met by a sizable crowd of reporters and photographers at the Kuching International Airport VVIP Room.

After greeting a group of party supporters, including secretary-general Justine Jinggut and deputy secretary-general Stanley Jugol, relatives, friends and well-wishers, he gave a brief media conference during which he said his doctors had reluctantly allowed him to travel.

He said his doctors were apparently concerned that flying so soon after the operation on his two knees might cause blood clots, but he decided to take the risk.

Wong added that if the surgery was done on one knee at a time, it was unlikely he would go back for a second knee operation because of the pain.

If the troubled politician was deeply worried about the factional crisis within Snap, he was not showing it.

Instead, despite his physical discomfort, there appeared to be a lot of fighting spirit in him. He said he was coming back "to sort out everything, all the mess."

Rival CEC meeting

Admitting that he had not been "100 per cent in touch" with what was going on in the party, he declined to answer questions either on the rival central executive committee meeting his deputy, Peter Tinggom, chaired last week or its decision to hold the national council meeting this Sunday.

Over the past few weeks, the split between the party's two factions widened to the point that Tinggom called for the aging party leader to step down.

And to force the issue, the rebel group — through a CEC meeting which was not approved by Wong — has called for a meeting of the national council, the party's highest decision-making body.

At the press conference this morning, Wong declared that there is only one Snap and one president, and that nobody should forget the party's 150,000 members.

Asked whether he would be offering himself again for election as president at the party's triennial general meeting in February, he said he would as long as members still wanted him.

However, he said that it would be pointless to carry on without the support of members.

This concession has led to speculation that if a compromise can be worked out between now and the party elections, Wong may offer to step down and let the delegates choose a new leader.

On the other hand, his supporters say that Wong is also ready for a long fight with his opponents, and he indicated as much during the media conference that it may be better for all to wait until the triennial general meeting.

Wong will chair the party's central executive committee meeting on Friday,— eight days earlier than originally scheduled.

But Wong will likely find only his own supporters, which includes most of the nominated members who were appointed by him, at the meeting since all but one of the party's elected representatives in the CEC have said they would stay away.

Several of Wong's close aides and supporters are going to urge the party president to act tough, including suspending his deputy, Tinggom.

No stranger to party crisis

Wong is expected to be closeted with close aides to discuss their plan of action and to prepare for tomorrow's CEC meeting, which will be held at the Snap headquarters in Kuching.

According to sources, Wong, a veteran politician who is no stranger to party crises in his 40 years in politics, may try to negotiate a settlement with his detractors.

However, it is not clear whether the Tinggom group is in any mood for a compromise.

Observers say the public utterances and actions of the dissidents over the past six weeks indicated that they may have already burned the bridges.

But as long as Jinggut — a Wong loyalist — remains as secretary-general, the president will still have control over party affairs and the statewide membership list.

This could drive the dissidents to bring the issue to the courts. Already, Wong's faction is contemplating taking an injunction to stop the June 9 national council meeting the rebel faction has called.

Wong himself summed up the happenings in Snap since his absence as kelam kabut (complete disarray).

Asked whether he was sad about what was going on, he was quick to reply: "Not sad, but sick of what's going on!"

He partly blamed the media for "over-highlighting" the Snap crisis.