PETALING JAYA: All the cards were on the table, or so it seemed, until MCA pulled an Ace. The junior partner in Barisan Nasional (BN) threatened to pull out of the 50-year-old coalition if it was not picked to contest the Tanjung Piai by-election.

Umno, having alienated the non-Malays with its pact with PAS, knew that without MCA, the coalition was not likely to survive, a source close to the negotiations told theSun yesterday.