Representatives from the ‘Eminent Malays’ group will be meeting with a representative from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) tonight, the group’s spokesperson Noor Farida Ariffin has confirmed.

Three representatives from the group, now dubbed 'G25', will be present at the meeting tonight, Noor Farida said this evening.

Noor Farida will be one of the three representatives in attendance.

The meeting will be between the representatives and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s political secretary Jailani Ngah, Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) director-general Othman Mustapha ( left ), as well as other officials.

In a statement issued later today, Noor Farida said the meeting had been agreed to on Dec 22 between her and Jailani.

“The meeting is being held on the instructions of the prime minister for the relevant government agencies to meet with the G25 and to come up with suitable recommendations for his consideration regarding the issues that the G25 had raised in the open letter,” she added.

The G25 rose to prominence when it wrote an open letter to Najib last month, urging for the voice of moderation by asking him to show leadership in the wake of intolerant voices from right-wing groups such as Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) and Perkasa.

The former top civil servants - comprising judges, ambassadors, and scholars - said in the joint letter that it was time for moderate Malays to speak out against the extremists.

'Preliminary meeting'

Ten additional prominent Malays have since joined the G25.

Meanwhile, Noor Farida said the group had requested a meeting with the prime minister himself, and suggested that the meeting with officials should be a preliminary one to discuss and agree on an agenda for the meeting between Najib and the G25.

“Therefore, tonight's meeting will be a preparatory meeting between representatives of the G25 and representatives of the PMO to discuss and set the agenda for our meeting with the prime minister,” she noted.

She also denied that tonight’s meeting is the result of a previous meeting between three NGOs and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad ( right ).

“The G25 would like to clarify that news reports saying the prime minister has snubbed the G25, or that tonight’s meeting is the result of a meeting between three NGOs and former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, are inaccurate.”

Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) chairperson Dr Farouk Musa himself today clarified that the three NGOs - IRF, Sisters in Islam and the Movement for a Just World (Just) - did not represent the G25 agenda, despite their respective organisations supporting the G25.