Health Minister Chua Jui Meng has quietly assumed a higher mantle of power by taking on minister-on-leave Dr Ling Liong Sik's transport minister's duties for four days now at Wisma Perdana in Damansara, Kuala Lumpur.

The two-week roost may yet run into years, marking a MCA in transition as the two major camps headed by men from the same clan - Ling and his deputy Lim Ah Lek share the same surname in Chinese character - restrategise their power game

The Chinese newspapers have kept its readers well informed about Ling's duties being temporarily shouldered by MCA senior vice-president Chua, as Ling headed Down Under last Saturday for a two-week break.

Ling, exhorted by party and community leaders and supported by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's approval and public suggestions that he should reconsider his "sudden unexpected" decision to resign as minister, had heeded their advice.

Chua, whom many in top MCA politics view as "too independent" to be trusted and absorbed into Ling's inner circle, has shown his mettle as a highly articulate leader, and is playing a high profile role in promoting small- and medium-scale industries within the Chinese community, initiated during his days as deputy minister in international trade and industry.

Now it is precisely this independent status, and his well acknowledged "efficient" technocratic performance at the Health Ministry - not withstanding the Japanese Encephalitis-Nipah setback - that has earned him a temporary promotion to the Transport Ministry. Mahathir had intimated he wanted a "senior" with experience..

This sojourn to handle the important transport portfolio may yet turn out to be a permanent posting for lawyer-trained Chua, to be much celebrated by a coterie of friends in MCA who call him "Jimmy".

It is an open secret that Chua's rise in stature would be viewed with more than a tinge of concern by friends of Ling, led by his preferred fast rising star, Ong Ka Ting.

It's not a budding "Gunfight at the OK Corral", but Chua's ascendancy will result in a realignment of power in MCA politics.

Differences between Ling and well-known nemesis, Lim, had recently become "irreconcilable", and this could have been a factor that triggered the ongoing saga. Lim's faction, marshalled by his protege Chan Kong Choy, will seize this transition period to win over Chua and other players who don't owe absolute loyalties to Ling.

Chan is the only deputy minister among the four VPs, the rest being ministers, viz Ong Ka Ting for Housing and Local Government and Dr Fong Chan Onn for Human Resources, who are clearly known as the president's men, having described their chief as "irreplaceable".

A reliable MCA source told malaysiakini that if Ling resigns his minister's post, there would be much pressure for him to surrender his party presidency as well, for what would make Ling's position in the Cabinet "untenable" would also make it equally so in the second largest component party within the 14-member Barisan Nasional after Umno ("[#1]Analysts: Ling will eventually quit[/#]", May 24).

Soon after Ling indicated indirectly via a MCA presidential council meeting on that fateful Monday that he "has decided" to resign from the Cabinet, Chan was caught by an "kungfu" blow by the master that his decision to vacate a ministerial seat would enable the pupil to take over a senior post.

Sifu Ling made in seem like a "magnanimous" move, but Chan's advisers deemed it a strike to checkmate Chan's ambitions to become MCA chief, and Chan vehemently protested at a press conference he never had asked the master to resign and neither would he accept the vacated "hot seat" at Wisma Perdana.

The prediction is that Ling's holiday in Perth - to enable to rethink his much-publicised expressed wish to resign as transport minister, a post he has held for 14 years - is likely to end with a confirmation he will take permanent leave from the Cabinet ("[#2]Ling's saga a mystery[/#]", May 24)

This view is supported by a poll underaken by Nanyang Siang Pau via its website, nanyang.com, which to date showed 66.5 percent respondents (4,615 out of 6,940) think that Ling would resign from the Cabinet at the end of his leave period. About 23.9 percent (1,657) predicted Ling would stay as transport minister while 9.6 percent (668 readers) had no opinion.

These poll results contrast greatly with the constant outpourings of support from group after group of MCA leaders, members and Chinese community leaders, generally calling on Ling to change his mind to resign the minister's post, saying his leadership was still much needed.

Assuming Ling does resign, both factions within MCA would have to come to a compromise candidate to lead the party, and Chua, being the seniormost VP, can count on supporters from both camps.
Chua, being about 10 years older than the other three VPs, can stay as an "interim" party chief, while Ong (Ling's anointee) and Chan (Lim's annointee) sharpen up their political (and martial arts?) skills for a showdown several years hence.

Come 2002 when party elections are scheduled, the realignment will be tested and manifested, but Lim's faction will have an advantage if they can persuade their leader to come out of semi-retirement. However, MCA history has shown that it may yet result in a much weakened party as the losers in the combat may exit into the embracing arms of Gerakan, already waiting in the wings.

"Meanwhile, the 44 members in the MCA central committee, being pragmatic politicians with their own plans, would reposition their bases around Chua, who is more inclined to work out a deal with Chan Kong Choy," said the MCA source.

"I don't see Lim (Ah Lek) coming out of his announced early retirement with an eye on the party top post, but he would be amenable to answer a call from Dr Mahathir to fill in any minister's vacancy for a transition period," he added. (Lim's return to the Cabinet can be achieved via a senator's appointment, which administratively would take a few weeks.)

The source said it was likely Chan could be promoted to a minister's post (health maybe) if Lim was not called upon to do "national" service.

The fissures in the party would be deepened as the initial "smallish" Lim faction would be expanded with Chua's endorsement, likely to be joined by another "independent", Ong Tee Keat, who had earned some distinction in his high profile performance as deputy speaker in Dewan Rakyat, but was left out of any power appointment following his mentor former MCA deputy chief Lee Kim Sai's departure.

This new alignment of power within MCA will see Lim grooming Chan to become the president in future. In fact, it was Lim's strong stand against Ling breaking a pre-election deal to appoint Chan as a full minister that played a secondary role in giving rise to Ling's current situation.

While the smiles crept back onto the faces of several MCA leaders who have thrown their weight behind Ling, hoping against hope that Ling may yet resurface from Down Under rejuvenated to lead the Transport Ministry again to greater heights, their smiles could be misplaced. Reports have trickled back from Australia to the local Chinese press that Ling is still "determined to resign as transport minister".

As the jigsaw pieces fall into place as the mystery of the Ling saga draws to its climax, the dominoes that will have to realign themselves in order that they do not fall victim in a game not of their making, some MCA leaders in this fortnight indeed live in "interesting times".

At the end of the day, many of these MCA leaders would realise that while they can plan and map out their moves at Wisma MCA, in Jalan Ampang, the last of the jigsaw puzzle was still manufactured somewhere in Putrajaya. As a saying goes, with a slight adaptation: Man proposes, some demi-god disposes.