| |
Merger strengthens Malaysian middle
ground
By Anil Netto
Two of
Malaysia's opposition parties, Parti Keadilan Nasional
(National Justice Party or Keadilan) and the smaller
Parti Rakyat Malaysia (Malaysian People's Party or PRM),
have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to
merge.
The move by the two multi-ethnic parties
likely will strengthen the middle ground within the
opposition, which has seen divisions emerge following
attempts by a third opposition party, Parti Islam
SeMalaysia (PAS), to introduce strict Islamic
hudud and qisas laws in the east-coast
state of Terengganu.
Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the
wife of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, heads
Keadilan. The party formed in April 1999 after Anwar's
ouster in September 1998 triggered reformasi, a
clamor for wide-ranging reforms.
Riding on the
outrage, a hastily cobbled-together opposition alliance,
comprising Keadilan, the left-leaning PRM, the
Chinese-based multi-ethnic Democratic Action Party (DAP)
and PAS, took on the ruling coalition in the 1999
general election. The alliance, known as Barisan
Alternatif (Alternative Front or BA), failed to dislodge
the ruling coalition, however.
But PAS, which
contested in Muslim-dominated areas, made significant
inroads at the expense of Prime Minister Mahathir
Mohamad's United Malays National Organization (UMNO).
The Malay-Muslim votes were split between the ruling
UMNO-led Barisan Nasional (National Front or BN)
coalition and the BA. But the BN retained its commanding
two-thirds majority in the 193-seat parliament winning
148 seats on the back of non-Malay support.
Among the opposition parties, PAS bagged 27
seats, the DAP 10 and newcomer Keadilan five, with three
other seats going to independents. PRM failed to win any
seats, though it came close in several areas it
contested.
The opposition unity proved fragile.
As PAS introduced conservative Islamic rules in the two
east-coast states it controls - Terengganu and Kelantan
- the DAP became increasingly uneasy, finally pulling
out of the BA last September. Days later, on September
29, Mahathir "declared" that Malaysia was already an
Islamic state, in effect raising the Islamic stakes.
This month, PAS tabled strict Islamic
hudud and qisas laws in Terengganu,
triggering controversy across the nation and further
clouding the BA's electoral prospects for the next
general election, widely expected to be held next year.
In an early indicator on July 18, the ruling coalition
snatched a seat from PAS and sliced PAS's previous
winning majority in two key by-elections in Mahathir's
northern home state of Kedah.
Non-Muslim support
for the PAS-led rump BA looks increasingly in doubt and
the impending merger between Keadilan and PRM may be
seen as an attempt to shore up the multi-ethnic appeal
of the opposition. The merged entity will provide a
stronger middle-ground for voters who may not want to
support either the BN or PAS.
It will also
provide a lifeline for reformasi, as its initial
momentum has flagged since September 11 in the face of a
government clampdown and non-Muslim insecurities.
The merger consolidates the two parties'
resources, especially in the light of the continuing
detention of several second-echelon Keadilan leaders
under the Internal Security Act. Their detentions have
denied the party its key mobilizers, who drew crowds of
thousands to public gathering until their detention last
April.
The MoU covers several elements,
including a new name - Parti Keadilan Rakyat (People's
Justice Party or Keadilan) - a new logo and
organizational positions for the merged entity. It also
provides details on a leadership transition to avert a
power struggle within the merged entity.
The MoU
was endorsed by Keadilan's Supreme Council on June 27
and then by PRM delegates at the party's 35th national
congress this month.
The new entity may prove to
be stronger than the sum of its parts. It will combine
the reformasi activists in Keadilan with the
experience of veteran leaders in PRM, headed by Dr Syed
Husin Ali.
But it was not all smooth sailing for
the merger plans. The idea for the Keadilan-PRM merger
was first brought up in 2000 but obstacles stood in the
path, including objections from a group within Keadilan
said to be linked to the Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia
(Malaysian Muslim Youth Movement or ABIM).
Delegates at a Keadilan extraordinary general
meeting gave a mandate for the merger to take place, but
the party failed to get the two-thirds majority required
to change its constitution.
Keadilan will have
another go at amending its constitution to facilitate
the merger at an extraordinary meeting to be held during
the party's two-day annual general assembly on October
26. Then there is the matter of getting approval from
the Registrar of Societies.
But with the MoU, it
is apparent that the leadership of the two parties were
keen on a merger. In fact, they appear to have had no
choice if they wanted to provide a credible
middle-ground alternative and to keep the
reformasi momentum alive.
(©2002 Asia
Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
contact content@atimes.com
for information on our sales and syndication
policies.)
|
| |
|
|
 |
|
