Whether Umno's leaders secretly bank their hopes on Team B's victory in the MCA power struggle cannot be conclusively deduced from "reports and commentaries of Umno-controlled newspapers that Team B is gaining strength while Team A is facing the problem of massive defection" as suggested in Umno's interest better served by backing MCA Team B (March 17).

Neither can we conclude that "a relatively weakened Umno cannot afford to have a strong MCA under the leadership of Team A as a coalition partner".

Whether Umno is weakened or strengthened relative to loss or recovery of Malay Malaysian support, it is already an entrenched dominant senior partner of ruling coalition to which MCA, confined only to its parochial cause of vernacular education, poses neither threat nor challenge on national issues.

The writer's view that "a strong, powerful and wealthy MCA under the uninterrupted leadership of Dr Ling Liong Sik would simply dwarf Umno in intra-coalition negotiations and policy-making" is unsupportable when it is remembered way before the leadership challenge by Team B, when MCA was then united, it did not even have the clout to arbitrate much less defend Suqiu against vilification when it petitioned for national issues beyond vernacular Chinese education.

Later, when the premier needed more advice to negotiate matters and concerns of the ethnic Chinese so that problems of the kind posed by Suqiu could be better handled, did he turn to MCA? No, he thought it more expedient to set up his own special desk in Putrajaya with two Chinese advisers to help!

However, Umno, and the ruling BN coalition by extension, will always have a vested interest wherever possible in a strong and united MCA, whether led by Team A or Team B rather than a factionalised and divided one to help deliver the Chinese Malaysian vote to the BN whether in by-elections or general elections. To that extent, Umno would want to see the internal squabble of MCA end, and the leadership challenge determined once and for all by MCA party elections, be it Team A or B. This explains why teams A and B head towards do or die by democratic party elections. There is no reason for the Umno leader to avert it. Neither should he interfere in internal politics of a component party.

While some Chinese Malaysian voters may still support the opposition in protest of BN's policies, the majority of others especially the business community will support the leadership of Umno, which has in the face of PAS' challenge, increasingly portrayed itself as a party not only spearheading the political struggle of the Malay Malaysians but now also safeguarding and promoting the interests of other communities by defence of moderation and status quo in its national policies.

As seen in Indera Kayangan by-elections, in spite of factionalised MCA, the BN had a resounding win. So this will be the angle on which Ketari by-election will be fought.

To attribute to Umno a wish to interfere in MCA's politics beyond the limited object to resolve MCA's internecine power struggle for the good of the entire coalition, whether for or against any faction that supposedly serves its better interest, is to give too much credit to MCA or any of the teams that they do not deserve. The premier has to worry about 13 political parties within the coalition!

Too many different dialects and clans beleaguered the Chinese Malaysian.

In the early mining days of the late 1800s whole clans would be swept up in fights arising from two drunken men of different clans and to maintain peace, the British had to establish a centralised authority through appointment of Yap Ah Loy as a headsman. In terms of divisions, not much has changed over a hundred years.

The MCA record is replete with leadership struggle (Lee San Choon vs Neo Yee Pan, Neo Yee Pan vs Tan Koon Swan, Ling Liong Sik vs Lim Ah Lek/Jimmy Chua etc.); in terms of constituency, Chinese educated vs English educated; politically conscious vs political apathetic and even among the former, their allegiance split between MCA, Gerakan, DAP and Keadilan. Unless all are united under one party, neither their influence nor voice will count much so don't vest so much importance in the MCA leadership tussle as it makes no impact on national events.