The leadership crisis within the Negeri Sembilan DAP which led to the resignation of its former state chairman on Saturday could be attributed to a power struggle among its factions, including one believed to be backed by a veteran politician within the party, said a source close to DAP today.

"The state's politics is so factionalised and it is obvious the faction supported by former DAP national chairman Dr Chen Man Hin is gaining the upper hand," the source told malaysiakini today.

He said the faction supported by Chen had been plotting against the former state chief, Wong Nyok for years, and they had always questioned the latter's leadership since he came into power three years ago.

The tension escalated lately when several DAP branches in the state threatened to join Keadilan if the party's central executive committee (CEC) did not intervene.

Similar leadership crises had erupted in the past, and the latest incident was merely "history repeating itself," said the source.

He explained that those discontented with Wong made their demand for the latter's removal very clear, relying on Chen's 'support'. Chen who is one of the founders of DAP is presently the party's life advisor.

"They (the anti-Wong faction) are loyal supporters of Chen and decided to execute such a bold move due to the latter being highly respected in the CEC."

Growing disappointment

Chen was DAP national chairman before he became life advisor of the party at the end of 1999. Prior to that, he was chairman of the Negeri Sembilan division from 1974 to 1982. His final outing in mainstream politics was in the 10th general elections in 1999 when he contested for the Rasah and Temiang parliamentary and state seats in Seremban.

The source said there is a growing number of disappointed members within the state's branches who believe it was the CEC's decision to replace Wong with DAP organising-secretary Tan Kok Wai, despite reports saying otherwise and attributing Wong's resignation to 'personal reasons'.

He added the party's intervention in the incident came at the expense of party rules and created a negative impact on the future direction of the Negeri Sembilan DAP.

"CEC's pressure was perceived to be the main factor why Wong resigned although the committee denied its involvement. Some of them (Wong's supporters) felt it was an injustice," he said.

"They were frustrated because Wong was a democratically elected state leader according to party rules and the way he was treated might call for more defiance of rules in the future," he added.

Plain rumours

Meanwhile, newly appointed Negeri Sembilan DAP chairman, Tan lashed out at speculations which implicate Chen in the tussle, dismissing them as "plain rumours".

"Those accusations against Chen are nonsense. There is competition among factions in all political parties but to implicate Chen in this episode is totally unacceptable," he said.

Citing various factions within any party as an 'unsurprising phenomenon', Tan said he would tolerate their existence in the state's branches, provided they continued to fight for the larger interest of the party.

Tan, who is also the member of parliament (MP) for Cheras, added that he met with Negeri Sembilan state branch leaders on Sunday, after his appointment as the new chief, and successfully convinced them to set aside their differences and work together as a team again.

"I told them we should aim our 'guns' at the external enemies and not at our friends in the same party. They promised to put their rivalries and prejudices behind them and concentrate on more pressing issues involving the people's interest," he said.