Keadilan supreme council leaders said today they will not heed a call for a postponement of the PRM-Keadilan merger plans by delegates at the party's special Annual General Meeting (AGM) this Sunday.

"No postponements. We will table the proposal and it will be up to the delegates to vote on it," Keadilan supreme council member Abdul Rahman Yusof told malaysiakini today.

"We decided at the supreme council meeting yesterday that we will not delay the merger plan any more," he added.

Abdul Rahman, who is Keadilan Terengganu's state liaison officer, said that the state's two branches fully supported the merger.

"There were groups lobbying against it but lately states like Terengganu, Penang, Perak and Federal Territory have swung towards accepting the merger," said Abdul Rahman.

"The states which are still doubtful are Melaka, Kelantan and Negeri Sembilan," he added.

Colour concern

On June 24, Keadilan delegates will meet at the Angkasa Auditorium in Kelana Jaya to decide whether the two-Malay based opposition parties should merge.

It is learnt that the party's supreme council leaders have been 'working hard' explaining to the grassroots the merits and technical aspects of the merger over the past two months.

The merger proposal, which came about early last year, has seen a split among members of both parties.

Some Keadilan members say the move will enhance the struggle of establishing a 'just' Malaysia; yet others fear that the merger will further split the Malays, saying that some may return to Umno, the ruling partner in the Barisan Nasional (BN) government coalition.

Abdul Rahman, who is member of parliament (MP) for Kemaman, said the grassroots had not been informed adequately regarding the merger.

"When we went to the grassroots, we found out that their concerns had nothing to do with ideology. Instead their fears had more to do with things like the colour of the party's flag. They said red was a socialist or communist colour," he said.

"We told them not to be emotional but to be practical and think of the future of their party. We told them even PAS uses red - what is so un-Islamic about that?" he added.

Power base threatened

It is learnt that once the merger takes place, PRM would have to dissolve with its members joining Keadilan. The new party will be called Parti Keadilan Rakyat Malaysia, while its acronym will remain Keadilan.

The party's flag colour would be Keadilan's turquoise blue with two red stripes on the right and left borders.

Recently, Keadilan members voiced their concern that party leaders were not confident of delegates' support for the merger.

Party sources claimed there was intense lobbying against the merger at branch levels nationwide. They said the opposing faction, which included Abim (Muslim Youth Movement) supporters, perceived PRM as a socialist party and un-Islamic.

It is believed that the pro-Abim faction, which has an extensive national network, is not happy with the merger because the arrival of PRM leaders could threaten their power base within Keadilan.

Abdul Rahman said it was a waste of time 'fighting' to maintain positions within the party.

"It is better to reserve energy and fight to become a member of parliament or state assembly representative in the coming (2004) general elections," he said.

He said the merger is important as Keadilan had to win the support of the 'multi-racial community' before the next general election.

"The dominant Malay-Muslim community supports PAS and the dominant Chinese community supports DAP. What do we do with the dominant mixture or multi-racial community?" he asked.

"This is where Keadilan comes in. This is also where BN is currently gaining from," he added.

Democratic process

Another Keadilan supreme council member Dr Ng Lum Yong told malaysiakini that differences in opinion regarding the merger issue are acceptable and democratic.

Ng said 80 percent of the grassroots in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur now supported the merger plan. Keadilan FT has 10 branches.

Keadilan supreme council member and Penang state liaison chief Dr Mansor Othman when contacted said the state is in favour of the merger. Penang, too, has 10 branches.

"We are not supposed to talk to the press but if you ask me about Penang, I can tell you that we have 100 percent support for the merger," he said.

Meanwhile, Abim in a press statement to malaysiakini today said that the organisation will not get involved in the affairs of any political party, including Keadilan.

"We believe party leaderships are well aware of the affairs in their own organisations and can make decisions without the help of outsiders," said Abim's deputy president Abdul Halim Ismail.

"Abim is of the opinion that all parties have to respect the democratic rights of members and leaders within the organisation and respect the democratic process that will follow," he said.

Keadilan was formed in 1998 in the wake of the sacking of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. It mostly comprises former Umno members, NGOs and reformasi activists, and Abim and Jamaah Islah Malaysia (a pro-Anwar Islamic group) supporters.