Opposition coalition Barisan Alternatif (BA) may form a new political party based on its existing secretariat to contest against Barisan Nasional in the forthcoming general election which is scheduled latest by 2004.

Keadilan secretary-general Sahri Bahri today said BA leaders had mulled the idea for some time and details of how the present coalition can be 'transferred' into the new party's membership are being looked into by the BA secretariat.

"We only need seven individuals as members to register for a party with a single logo," he told malaysiakini .

This option is easier than that of registering the coalition as a party, as that would require seven parties as members.

Asked if its former partner, DAP, will be invited to join the new party, Sahri said, "As it is, no."

Shortly before the 1999 general election, four opposition parties — PAS, Keadilan, DAP and PRM — signed a joint manifesto to form the BA in a concerted effort to challenge the ruling BN which is made up of 14 parties.

The cooperation among the opposition parties was positive as the BA as a whole managed to garner about 45 percent of the votes in the last general election. Terengganu fell to PAS, which also kept its hold on Kelantan, and BN candidates won with very slim majorities in several constituencies.

However, in September last year, DAP pulled out of the coalition because it could not agree to PAS' aim of establishing a theocratic state should it come to power.

Keadilan focuses on Selangor

Meanwhile, Berita Keadilan , the organ of opposition party Keadilan, reported that the party aims to conquer and 'liberate' Selangor from the clutches of BN.

The publication's latest edition quoted Keadilan's vice-president Azmin Ali as saying that Selangor is an important state as its racial composition is similar to the country's racial mix.

The racial composition in Selangor is 47.2 percent Malay Malaysians, 29 percent Chinese Malaysians and 6.7 percent other Malaysians whereas that of the country is 47 percent, 24.3 percent and 14.4 percent respectively.

"Keadilan Selangor proposes that Selangor become the focus and frontline state," said Azmin who is Hulu Kelang state assembly representative.

"This reality [and the fact that Selangor has undergone massive urbanisation] has a great impact on the political thinking of the Selangor people," he added.

Azmin said Keadilan's vision for Selangor is to double the people's income and cut taxes, promote economic and spiritual growth as well as a conducive environment for business, and do away with bureaucracy, corruption, cronyism and nepotism.

He claimed that Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo was not able to aspire to the people's aspirations as the state head has a credibility problem.

Allegations of corruption have been plaguing Khir since he took office two years ago. In particular, media activist Ahmad Lutfi Othman has lodged reports with the Anti-Corruption Agency against Khir for allegedly abusing his power in several state projects and land deals. However, nothing has come out of the reports to date.