They say a week is a long time in politics, and Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor is finding out how much has happened since he came out of Kajang prison, where he had been serving a two-year jail sentence from last August.

Apart from having to attend to party matters, he has had ro fend off speculation on his political future in view of the upcoming general election. This is due by November 2004, but is widely expected to be called earlier.

Recent rumours in Barisan Alternatif had it that a Youth leader was in talks with Umno, with a crossover being circulated as the likely outcome. Fingers were pointed at Ezam.

Responding this morning, Ezam flatly dismissed such talk: "I am member of Parti Keadilan, not Umno. Why would I be involved in any discussion with them?"

However, he said he was not surprised about the speculation, saying that Malaysians thrive on this.

"Malaysia is a factory of rumours. But I don't heed any of them. I am fully committed to the struggle of the party and I believe that the Youth wing has an equally strong commitment," he said.

Ezam said he was unable to reply to the allegations earlier. Since being freed, he has been busy tending to his seriously ill mother who has been hospitalised for stress for several weeks.

On June 10, Ezam won a stay of execution on imprisonment for breach of the Official Secrets Act, pending disposal of his appeal against the conviction and sentence.

He had been detained under the Internal Security Act with five other reformasi leaders in Kamunting Detention Centre, Perak, from June 2001 up to his transfer to Kajang. His ISA detention ended on June 1.

Priority for merger

Ezam said his immediate task was to ensure that the Keadilan-PRM merger is accomplished. The two opposition parties have finalised plans to form Parti Keadilan Rakyat Malaysia .

"Once I settle my family problems (his mother's illness), I will meet the Youth exco to discuss and settle any outstanding issues. I expect to hold the meeting in a week's time," he told malaysiakini outside the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court this morning.

He was there for mention of an illegal assembly case, in which he is facing a charge alongside six others. Hearing has been set for Oct 1-3 and 5-8.

Ezam said he would like the Youth exco to approve his plan to take the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to task for "delaying" approval of the merger..

"I don't intend to keep quiet. We want to know why the ROS took only a few days to approve the registration of a new political party in Sarawak, and why the authority is taking its time in processing our application," he said referring to speedy registration of the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party last November..

He said there was no reason why the ROS should take such a long time to approve the application when both PRM and Keadilan are established and registered political parties.

"We want to question the credibility of the ROS. Do they have a political agenda? If so, we have the right to question them," Ezam said.

Women in Youth wing

Negotiations at youth level also need to be finalised on matters such as the inclusion of women in the wing (now comprising male members).

Ezam said he was confident that the move would go without a hitch, as he and the majority of men in Keadilan Youth were open to the proposal. While some resistance has been recorded, he said this was not strong.

"We (Keadilan) are used to a culture of openness compared to other parties. So, any open debate is always wrongly interpreted as (amounting to) strong objections," he explained.

"To me, it is normal to have objections especially on (matters involving) such a radical change as this."