As the general election draws closer, it appears that DAP and Parti Rakyat Keadilan (Keadilan) will not be able to resume their seat negotiations, which came to an abrupt halt several months ago.

According to DAP national publicity secretary Ronnie Liu today, the party's negotiation team, is "waiting for instructions" to discuss with their former ally.

However Liu, who heads the team, declined to reveal from who or where this instruction will come from.

"I am not the one calling the shots. I am just part of the negotiation team. I am waiting for instructions," he said when contacted .

"The elections is very, very near, so whoever is calling the shots must do something about this. I do not want to make things more difficult, already there is so much negative publicity on the matter," he added.

Liu reiterated that the party is "very keen" on avoiding three-cornered fights with Keadilan.

Several previous attempts hit a brick wall when DAP suspended talks on Aug 5 in a letter to Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail following what it claimed were "persistent leaks" of negotiation details to the media.

However, in a bid to revive talks - which have been frozen for six months - Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua said last month that both parties should set aside their differences and start the ball rolling again.

DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock had also called for the talks to resume to ensure straight-fights with the ruling Barisan Nasional.

However when contacted this afternoon, he declined to comment on the matter.

Asked about his statement in the Chinese media recently that 'informal' talks had been held at the state level between the two parties, Kerk denied the report, saying he had been "misquoted".

Internal meetings

Meanwhile, Penang DAP leader Chow Kon Yeow said he was also waiting for decisions from the top.

"Nothing has happened (in Penang). We are waiting for the national team to make a decision regarding the matter. "We have discussed seats allocation internally but not with Keadilan," he added.

Chow, who is the Tanjung member of Parliament, however, squashed rumours that DAP was ready to contest against Keadilan in Penang.

On the same note, Perak DAP state chairperson Ngeh Koo Ham, said the party does not want to discuss the issue of seat negotiations via the media.

"We request that this would not be made public but Keadilan seems to give out information from time to time.

As to whether his team has met with its Perak counterpart to discuss the matter, Ngeh replied: "Not officially. As friends, we do bump into each other, but there has not been any formal meeting."

"We are waiting for decisions from our headquarters but it seems that nothing is happening," he added.

Keadilan leaders refused to comment on the issue.