PAS leader Husam Musa confirmed that he and Khairy Jamaluddin, the son-in-law of premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, held a meeting during which the "political implications" of election petitions in Kelantan and Terengganu were discussed.

The duo were seen as the chief negotiators for bitter political rivals Barisan Nasional and PAS in reaching a deal not to pursue election petitions in the two states - apart from that for the Pasir Puteh parliamentary seat where the Election Commission conceded an error .

Husam, a PAS central working committee member and Kelantan executive council member, described his two-hour meeting with Khairy last month as "a courtesy call without a fixed agenda".

However, he said the matter of the election petitions was raised during the discussions.

"I did meet with Khairy and we discussed a lot of things like parliamentary reform, the war against corruption and the state-federal government relationship," he told malaysiakini during an interview at his office in Kota Baru.

"It was the first time I met with Khairy. I have never met him before... he talked a lot during the meeting."

Khairy, who is considered one of the prime minister's most trusted advisers, could not be reached for comment today.

Integrity question

Husam said he had conveyed PAS support for the premier's all-out war against corruption.

"I told Khairy that Pak Lah would have to (remove) some of the ministers who have been implicated in corruption cases, if he is serious about fighting against corruption."

The duo then "roughly" discussed the potential impact of the election petitions in Kelantan and Terengganu.

Said Husam: "I mentioned to him the possibility of a snap election (in Kelantan) which we would try to avoid if we could.

"We also discussed the political consequences of the election petitions for the federal government, especially in relation to the government's integrity. Many think that BN won because of irregularities. So if the court were to decide in favour of BN, it could further erode Pak Lah's integrity.

"That's all, I never met Khairy after that. That was the first and last meeting. No communication by phone or other means after that."

He stressed that the meeting was a normal "political discussion" among politicians, adding that no negotiations took place during the meeting.

"No agreement or mutual understanding were achieved during our meeting," he said.

Meeting with lawyers

Husam also disclosed that he had met with lawyers for the BN to "understand the nature of the election petition".

"(But) nothing was agreed. All the election petitions cases were handled by lawyers for both parties, in accordance with the court process," he noted.

He brushed aside speculation that PAS had 'sacrificed' the Pasir Puteh seat in order to keep Kelantan, which it holds by only a three-seat majority in the state legislative assembly. This was earlier cited as the basis of the 'secret deal'.

"It is not true at all. The seat never belonged to us and we were declared the winner due to an error in the announcement by the returning officer. We have to concede the fact," Husam said.

"Some columnists asked why the issue was raised only three months after it happened, but the fact is that BN had objected instantly after the announcement. The returning officer, after consulting his superior, said he could only change the situation through an election petition," Husam added.

On June 23, the Kota Baru Election Court had struck out a total of nine election petitions filed by both parties, challenging the outcome in seven state and two parliamentary seats in Kelantan.

On July 4, the Kuala Terengganu Election Court struck out nine petitions filed by PAS and BN during a hearing in chambers. BN regained control of the state from PAS in the March 21 polls.