Barisan Nasional's oldest and smallest component partner PPP might see more seats being allocated in the coming general election, said Prime Minister and BN chairperson Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today.

Abdullah gave this assurance and vowed that the ruling coalition will consider the People's Progressive Party's long-standing request for more representation.

He said this to an enthusiastic applause when officiating the party's annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur this morning.

At present PPP's only elected representative is its president and Taiping MP M Kayveas, who is also a Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

"He (Kayveas) said he has sent the request (for more seats) to the central committee (of BN). I say since he has sent the request, then we would consider it," said Abdullah to the loud cheers of over 2,000 delegates present.

"This is our way. We don't need external pressure to make our demands. We are all brothers. We can negotiate," he added.

Abdullah, however, did not indicate how soon the committee would come to a decision. Since last year, PPP has requested that the BN allow the party to contest in at least one seat in each state (in Peninsular Malaysia).

Spirit of give and take

After missing out on the action during the 1990, 1995 and 1999 general elections due to internal party squabbles, PPP was granted one parliamentary and one state seat to contest in the 2004 polls.

While it won the Taiping parliamentary seat, the party lost the Pasir Penampar state seat in Perak to the DAP.

Abdullah was responding to Kayveas, who earlier in his speech, hit out at the party's critics and said the party's demands were justified by virtue of being one of the Barisan's founding members in 1972.

The prime minister also warned that BN infighting would weaken the coalition.

"People don't like to see brothers quarrelling among themselves. They would say the family is not stable. We must always be reasonable and that should be our prime effort.

"People who fight and oppose us want to see us split. Barisan's strength does not come from implementing projects but a spirit of give-and-take amongst ourselves. This must be our practice for a better future, not for just our party - the Barisan Nasional - but for the people and the country," he said.

Taking a moderate stand, Abdullah rehashed the coalition's history which he said was founded in the "spirit of give-and-take".

Referring to an earlier comment by Kayveas, Abdullah said BN was not formed because Perikatan a coalition of Umno, MCA and MIC failed.

War of words

He said the Rukunegara, the New Economic Policy and the Barisan Nasional power-sharing concept was borne out of the lessons learnt from the 1969 racial riots.

"BN is not for one race or made up of one religion. We represent all races, all segments of society.

He also countered an earlier comment by Kayveas that the BN should not descend into a government "of the few, by the few, for the few."

"It is totally wrong to say that. If that was true, we would not have survived for (even) two years. We would not have survived one election, if this was our practice. Our government is made to progress by a party that consists of Malaysians. Barisan Nasional is not a party for rich people.

"Its members are Malaysians. We don't require that you need to be rich so that you can join the Barisan Nasional, or any of the BN components. Does Datuk Kayveas require PPP members to be rich?" he said.

Kayveas' request for more seats has seen him entangled in a bitter war of words with coalition partner Gerakan.

More recently, his party received an open rebuke from Umno vice-president Mohd Ali Rustam who said that PPP was free to leave the coalition if it felt it was being unfairly treated.