The dispute over 'traditional or hot' seats for the coming general election remains a major obstacle that could affect the o­n-going negotiations between PAS, DAP and Keadilan.

The three opposition parties have been conducting intermittent talks over seats and according to observers, have not been making much headway.

This is principally due to the insistence of PAS and DAP of holding o­n to what they claim as their 'traditional' seats. The new kid o­n the block, Keadilan, naturally becomes unhappy.

A lecturer opined today that PAS and DAP should not assert their hold o­n such seats if they "truly recognise and welcome" the emergence of Keadilan as a new opposition ally.

Unfair demand

New Era College's Chang Teck Peng said it was totally unfair for the two older parties to demand for seats which they had previously won or contested as Keadilan is a new party.

"How can Keadilan [ever] obtain its traditional seats since PAS and DAP have contested almost all the seats over the years?" he queried.

"If we define seats contested by DAP and PAS before as their respective traditional seats, it is meaningless for Keadilan to take part in the elections because they have no seats to contest," added the media studies coordinator.

DAP and Keadilan, who are rivals for mixed constituencies, have been criticised for failing to resolve the seat issue despite several meetings - officially or otherwise - held since the beginning of the year.

PAS is said to be focusing o­n two other Malay-dominated states - Kedah and Pahang - currently ruled by Barisan Nasional. The party now controls Kelantan and Terengganu.

It is in the "mixed" seats, but with Malay majority, that PAS and Keadilan may see some tension.

For PAS and DAP, however, the battle lines are quite clear. DAP's traditional seats are in Chinese-dominated areas where PAS has no interest in.

Despite leaving the Barisan Alternatif in September 2001 over its disagreement with PAS' Islamic state ideals, DAP is nevertheless willing to forge an election pact with Keadilan to face BN in the coming election.

At loggerheads

However, both parties emerged from their first official meeting last month seething with dissatisfaction over the outcome of the discussion as o­ne claimed that the other was adamant in their selection of seats to contest.

At state level, the parties continue to be at loggerheads with DAP insisting that Keadilan should "work hard to win the hearts and minds of the rakyat instead of always looking at our seats".

Keadilan, o­n the other hand, is unabashedly eyeing seats previously held by DAP, and had often disregarded the negotiation process by stating through the media that it has better chances of winning those seats.

The Malay-dominated but multi-racial party has also annoyed DAP by eagerly declaring its interest in wanting to contest 60 percent of front-line state seats such as Selangor, Perak and Penang.

Universiti Malaya lecturer Lee Hwok Aun said that basically it was a matter of "collective benefit superceding selfish interest" if the two parties want to seriously resolve the problem.

However, this is easier said than done, Lee opined, but necessary for the cause of expanding the opposition as a whole.

"I see considerable historical evidence that many constituencies tend to continually support a certain party, whether BN or the opposition," said Lee, a lecturer in development studies at the university.

"These are typically referred to as traditional seats, though I think "established" would be a more appropriate adjective," he added.

Lee pointed out that it was vital to consider the response of the electorate to the opposition campaign, especially to gauge whether innovative ideas or noble principles would be well received by the people.

Gag agreement

But to their credit, the last meeting held o­n May 5 showed some signs that the two parties were willing at least to discontinue tarnishing the image of the opposition by bickering publicly over the issue.

In the past, their public outbursts over seats and during by-elections have proved disastrous when the ruling party swept the seats with landslide victories.

Universiti Sains Malaysia communications lecturer Mustafa K Anuar welcomed the decision of the parties to remain silent, saying that seats allocation was an election strategy that should not be revealed to all and sundry.

"We are not asking them to hide but such discussions should be done behind closed doors so as not to give the government-controlled media the opportunity to highlight such negativeness within their ranks," he added.

"During o­n-going discussions, they should not be attacking each other openly. Do you see the BN ever doing it?" asked Mustafa.

"Despite their internal problems, BN has always appeared as a united front when confronted by the media," he added.