Keadilan will look into the possibility of making overtures to opposition party DAP for a better showing during the next general election.

When its 1,300 delegates meet in Sungai Petani, Kedah, this weekend for the party's annual general meeting, this will be on the agenda. Other items include constitutional changes to complete the merger with PRM.

Political bureau chief Dr Lee Boon Chye said the outcome of the recent Gaya parliamentary by-election has made it necessary for the party to resolve issues involving other opposition parties.

However, Lee, who is also a supreme council member, said any co-operation must reflect equality in standing between the parties concerned, without any of them having to cave in to others.

The party has felt the backlash of losing heavily in the Gaya parliamentary by-election in Sabah on Oct 12. Turnout, at 45 percent of the 49,427 voters, was the lowest ever in a by-election in Malaysia.

BN candidate Liew Teck Chan beat DAP's Hiew King Cheu and Keadilan's Christina Liew by a majority of 11,923 votes, a far higher margin than that in the 1999 general election.

Silent protest

Lee said the party's decision to contest in the by-election despite similar intentions by the DAP was based on an assessment by the Keadilan Sabah branch.

"We have to contest if we want to be a reliable opposition party. We saw this as a good start (to make inroads into Sabah politics)," he said.

"However, we realise from the results that people are not happy with the split within the opposition."

Lee said voter turnout of less than 50 percent could be seen as a "silent protest" by supporters who do not wish to see a disunited opposition.

"It is not that BN is getting stronger, but that the opposition is not united," he said, of the by-election outcome.

In an immediate response, DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock said the party's central committee has already expressed its intention to negotiate with Keadilan on possible co-operation in the next general election.

"We have started the process but we are told they are not ready yet," he added.

Meanwhile, on the DAP having garnered more Chinese Malaysian votes than Keadilan in Gaya, Lee said the party's strategy had not been attractive enough to influence voter decisions.

"While we could see the people's support for our candidate, there seemed to be no compelling reason for people to come out and vote for us," he added.