Much has been said about the dialogue, no, negotiations on the terms of surrender, between Umno Youth and Suqiu.

Indeed, the series of talks between the two parties, brokered by Gerakan politicians, were to exact a retraction of the so-called "sensitive" points contained in Suqiu's "manifesto".

To its credit, Suqiu was adamant not to give in. After all, it has, time and again, said that it supports the "special position" of the Malays as stipulated in the Constitution.

Moreover, the clauses in its election appeals, which allegedly questioned Malays' special rights, are veritable expressions of a future in which all Malaysians are treated equally - a vision which surely everyone supports.

Faced with such recalcitrance from Suqiu, a number of strong-arm tactics were employed to "soften" its intractable stand during the week and a half when the secret meetings took place.

Hanging over Suqiu's head like the Sword of Damocles was, of course, the nationwide rallies planned by the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students, or GPMS, a group of which Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Badawi was a former head.

It is also learnt that the police met with key Suqiu leaders to press them into signing the deal, an act which, given a previous precedent, is against the law.

Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim was sentenced to six years' jail after being charged for "abusing his powers" by prodding the police to get two individuals to "retract" their accusations of sexual misconduct against him.

Reluctant compromise

Not surprisingly, Suqiu relented eventually. The compromise was that the "sensitive" points were to be set aside "in view of the prevailing ethnic tension".

Simply put, it means that given the engineered flap over the Suqiu's appeals and the fear of worsening racial ties, the "sensitive points" would not be discussed for now.

However, should the political climate improve some time in future, the controversial clauses will be put back on the front burner.

Nevertheless, it was good enough for Umno Youth, which was desperate for a settlement, to sign the deal and claim victory.

The mainstream media helped by giving a laudable spin to the agreements. Words such as "withdraw" and "retract" were liberally used when referring to the settlement. Even Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein has interpreted the agreement as a retraction.

With the deal, Umno Youth has solved a problem it created. Indeed, few have forgotten the rowdy demonstration by its members outside Suqiu's office, threatening to raze it to the ground.

In addition, it has also silenced some of its critics for not pulling its weight in the recent Lunas by-election campaign, resulting in a humiliating defeat in the hands of the opposition.

Worse off

Suqiu, on the other hand, emerged from the deal worse off. While it refused to withdraw the controversial clauses, it finally did concede to putting them aside for the time being.

By agreeing to "set aside" almost one-tenth of its appeals in the election "manifesto", Suqiu has lost its moral high ground. It cannot now go and seek support for a document which contains a number clauses considered "taboo".

However, Suqiu can repair some of the damage done by pressing Umno Youth for talks on the other 76 of the 83 sub-points in its 17 appeals, which involve national unity, democracy, human rights, anti-corruption, judiciary, socio-economic justice, education, environmental protection, multi-culturalism, housing policy, professionalism of the police and mass media, rights of women, and the indigenous people.

But it is unlikely that a badly shaken Suqiu leadership - having been spooked by Umno and labeled as communists by the prime minister - is willing to take the offensive.

Given this, Suqiu has unwittingly written itself off from any future political discourse in the country. Indeed, the damage to the organisation is so extensive that there are already talks of a new coalition to carry on Suqiu's original mission.