As Keadilan's special annual general meeting on Sunday to decide on the party's merger with Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) draws closer, the growing sentiment is that some delegates from the peninsula might not vote in favour of the proposal.

Keadilan Negeri Sembilan state liaison officer Ruslan Kassim told malaysiakini today, "We cannot make an official stand. It is not that we do not have one, but we just cannot make one."

He added, "We are giving our delegates absolute freedom to decide this Sunday."

On June 24, about 1,000 Keadilan delegates from throughout the country will assemble at the Angkasa Auditorium in Kelana Jaya to decide whether the two Malay-based parties will merge. PRM will hold its own AGM on July 14.

Delegates will cast their votes in a secret ballot. Keadilan's leadership needs a simple majority to proceed with the merger.

Ruslan said it is impossible to get unanimous support for the merger.

"We practise democracy. Let the delegates decide. We do not subscribe to the concept of ' setuju -ism' here, unlike Umno," he said, adding that ' setuju -ism' meant being 'yes-men'.

Asked why there are dissenting views, Ruslan said sentiments about the party's historical background are strong among those opposing the merger.

"They tell me 'if we had wanted to join PRM, we would have done that a long time ago'," he said.

Intense lobbying

Since merger talks started in the middle of last year, the leadership of both parties has had to deal with differing views from members.

Some feared that their party's identities will be lost and were unwilling to abandon their 'glorious' past. There is also the perception held by some Keadilan members that PRM is a socialist or communist party and 'is un-Islamic'.

There has been intense lobbying by at least five factions in Keadilan against the merger.

Party sources told malaysiakini that some delegates would call for a postponement of the merger at the AGM claiming they did not have sufficient time to explain the merits and technical aspects of the merger to their grassroots.

However, supreme council leaders said yesterday that they would brook no delay as they had unanimously agreed to propose and vote on the idea on Sunday.

The party sources said that while delegates from Penang, Federal Territory, Terengganu and Perak were 100 percent behind the merger, states such as Melaka, Negeri Sembilan and Kelantan were against it.

When contacted, Melaka state liaison officer Omar Jaafar declined to comment beyond saying "let the June 24 AGM decide. It is difficult for me to say".

"There are some who would say 'yes' and some who would say 'no'," he added.

Sarawak support

Keadilan's Sarawak deputy information officer Cheng Hui Hong was more forthcoming. He said the state's delegates are unanimously behind the merger.

"If we are successful, we may be the third biggest political party and the biggest multi-racial party, even larger than DAP," he said.

"There are definitely no dissenting views here with regard to the merger," he added.

Cheng said the delegates support the merger because PRM president Dr Syed Husin Ali is well-known among the non-Malays. He added the 46-year-old party is also acknowledged as championing the cause of the downtrodden and disadvantaged.