The inclusion of women into the proposed Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Youth wing has met with strong resistance from Keadilan Youth despite an endorsement from its leadership.

In a letter to jailed ex-deputy premier and PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim, Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua said Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor was trying hard to convince the wing to accept the women.

"Like Wanita Umno resisted the formation of Puteri [Umno], I am not surprised with the Youth's attitude," he said in the letter dated Feb 3, a copy of which was made available to malaysiakini .

"But I believe, when an idea is good, we should implement it rather than delaying it," added Chua, who is serving a two-year detention under the Internal Security Act.

"I suspect the reluctance to admit women members is merely due to the convention of the Umno Youth structure," he added in the letter from the Kamunting detention centre in Taiping, Perak.

Imitating facts

Keadilan Youth comprises many ex-Umno members and this includes, Mohd Ezam, who is currently serving a two-year jail sentence for breaching the Official Secrets Act.

Keadilan Youth is made up of o­nly male members while the Youth wing of Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) is unisex.

On Sunday, PKR's transitional leadership line-up was endorsed by Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and PRM president Dr Syed Husin Ali, following a three-hour meeting in Shah Alam, Selangor.

Elaborating further in his letter, Chua said as a concept, Youth was inclusive of both sexes and to set up a separate young women's wing such as Puteri Umno was "unnecessary".

"It seems too much like imitating Umno. Further, we don't have sufficient energy, resources and leadership to build a new structure," he added.

Tian was detained in April 2001 with several others, including Mohd Ezam, for plotting to overthrow the government through militant means.

They claim the charges were fabricated but the authorities have denied this.

Constitutional grounds

When contacted, PKR pro-tem committee secretary-general Abdul Rahman Othman said the issue would be resolved by PKR's Youth and Women's wings.

Abdul Rahman, who is Keadilan deputy president, said the contention of the Youth was based o­n constitutional grounds.

The wing's constitution stipulates that its members must consist of "pemuda", which literally means "young male".

"Although the Youth wing has its own stand, the party leadership will resolve the issue soon.

"We are definite that we are not going to create another new wing like Puteri Umno," said Abdul Rahman.

However, sources said Keadilan Youth has been given two weeks to resolve the problem of incorporating women into the wing.

One party source said the ball is now in the wing's court and if they failed to resolve the matter, PKR pro-tem supreme council will be called in to "find a way".

The source revealed that a Youth meeting last month saw a majority of members shooting down the proposal to include women into the wing.

"Although the top leadership has no problems about the issue, they do not want to violate the autonomy of the wing to make its own decision.

"The leadership does not want to impose its power o­n the wing, or else it would create a precedent, which is not healthy," said the source who requested anonymity.

When contacted, Keadilan Youth's recently resigned deputy chief Saifuddin Nasution Ismail declined to comment o­n the matter since he had not attended the wing's meeting last month.

The Lunas state assembly representative announced his resignation o­n Feb 21 paving the way for PRM leader Faisal Sanusi to lead the Youth wing of the merged parties.

Controversial issue

Meanwhile, PRM vice-president Jonson Chong when contacted said the incorporation of women into PKR's Youth wing was o­ne of PRM's prerequisites to secure the merger between the two parties.

Chong said the matter was a "controversial issue" that needed to be seriously looked into at three levels - supreme council, Youth and Women's wing.

He said the matter was not o­nly a policy issue but was related to a fundamental political stand when it concerned issues of gender equality and non-discrimination between the sexes.