PAS president Fadzil Noor is still deciding on who he would appoint as the party's first Chinese Central Working Committee (CWC) member while speculations are rife that two veteran politicians and a newcomer have been short-listed.

"The president of the party has the right to appoint one CWC member of Chinese background while other non-Malays can be appointed into the various bureaus of the party," Fadzil told malaysiakini today.

The three candidates said to be in the running are veterans, Kamal Koh and Anuar Tan Abdullah, as well as newcomer, Ann Wan Seng.

Asked if PAS was competing with Umno, as Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was recently reported to be appointing two Chinese special advisers, Fadzil jokingly replied, "Of course, we are competing.

"But PAS is not a race-based party and we have to appoint non-Malays into the party fold. All they need is a PAS membership and a commitment to the party's struggles," explained Fadzil.

However, the stipulation for membership in PAS is that candidates must be Muslims.

When news of the premier's proposed appointments broke, observers saw it as a way of fishing for Chinese and non-Malay votes as the 1999 elections showed a split in these votes caused the 'shocking' defeat of Barisan Nasional in Terengganu which fell into PAS' hands.

And PAS' decision to appoint a Chinese into its influential CWC, might just tip the scales in the 2004 elections.

'Great responsibility'

Meanwhile, Kamal Koh when contacted said he would turn down the offer if the president were to choose him as the responsibility of such a position is enormous.

"I think in politics, one bears a great responsibility and if I feel I cannot bear it, then I will pave the way for others," said the 15-year PAS veteran.

Kamal, who is PAS' Federal Territory liaison committee deputy chairperson and member of the Wangsa Maju division committee, said the best candidate for the job would be Anuar Tan Abdullah.

"If there is no better candidate, I would take on the role; but I propose Anuar. He is more experienced politically. Since joining PAS, he has pledged himself to the rakyat full time," he said.

However, Kamal felt that 35-year-old newcomer Ann Wan Seng would not be the right person for the job due to his lack of political experience.

"In order to be effective, the candidate must be able to speak and read Chinese. Ann is not fluent in both. He may be a good orator but in terms of experience, Anuar is obviously the more mature one," he said.

When contacted, Anuar, who is PAS Kota Bharu division vice-chairperson, said he would accept the post if offered.

"If I were given the appointment, as a party member I will have to comply," he said.

Anuar, who was Gerakan deputy youth chief in the 1980s, joined PAS in 1996 because he saw "no future" in the former.

"I moved on to PAS as I had a vision to help the Chinese as well as to serve the public," he said.

He added the Chinese community over the years has misunderstood Islam and PAS, adding that both must be properly explained to them. "It would be a slow process but we have to start somewhere," he said.

'No problem'

Meanwhile, Ann who recently joined PAS, said "it would be no problem" for him to accept to the post should he receive the appointment letter.

Ann, a public speaker, freelance writer and former human rights organisation Suaram coordinator, said: "We have to use our ideas, experiences and knowledge to help promote PAS to the Chinese community.

"We must begin with intensive programmes and have dialogues to promote PAS to the Chinese," said Ann, adding that it would be a time consuming-process, but "we must start as soon as possible".