Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua, who is currently being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), today called on party delegates who will be attending a special annual general meeting (AGM) on Sunday in Petaling Jaya to vote in favour of the Keadilan-PRM merger.

In a statement from the Kamunting detention centre in Perak where he is being held, Tian warned delegates not to fall into the Barisan Nasional's 'Malay dominance trap'.

Tian, who is undergoing a two-year detention period, said the merger would also be a big step forward for reformasi as would show that the party was open to multi-racialism and pluralism.

"Our party does not have a racial quota to ensure Malay membership nor do we champion Malay issues only," he said, adding that the new generation of Malays aspired for change.

On Sunday, Keadilan delegates will meet at the Angkasa Auditorium in Kelana Jaya to decide whether the party should merge with PRM.

The merger proposal, which came about early last year, has seen a split among members of both parties with some saying it would enhance the struggle for a 'just' Malaysia while others fear the merger would split the Malays in Keadilan with some returning to Umno.

Political domination

Tian said Keadilan must depart from old political forces like Semangat 46 (now defunct) in order to break new ground.

"We also need to overcome the 'socialist' or 'communist' stigma. This is an age-old strawman used to justify the ISA, repression and various anti-human rights practices throughout history," he said.

"We are sitting in this camp today because of these types of justification," he said, adding that the issue facing reformasi activists today was not "left or right wing politics".

The new generation is not concerned with historical debates but instead wants to integrate all different political forces, whether left, right, radical or moderate, he said.

Tian said the creation of Keadilan and Barisan Alternatif (BA) was to bring about a movement based on a new political thinking. "Old stigmas - racial and ideological, are tactics to stay in power," he said.

"We must break this. In this country, Malays are always threatened with losing their political domination. On the other hand, Chinese and Indians are constantly intimidated with riots and are made to fear the Malays and Islam," he said.

"Keadilan threatens the hegemony of Umno. If we are successful in gaining multiracial support, the regime would be determined to crush this," he added.

Crackdown

Tian was among 10 Keadilan leaders and reformasi activists detained under the ISA in a crackdown early April for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government through 'militant means'.

Four were released while the remaining six, including Tian were sent to the Kamunting detention centre in Taiping, Perak to undergo their two-year detention beginning June 2.

The others are Keadilan leaders, Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, Saari Sungib, Lokman Nor Adam, Dr Badrul Amin Bahron and social activist-cum- malaysiakini columnist Hishamuddin Rais.