Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua today refuted allegations that the Malaysian Islamic Youth Association or Abim is influencing its members in Keadilan to gain a prominent footing in the party.

Recently, certain quarters in the party have accused Abim leaders in Keadilan of manipulating the party's divisional meetings and selection of the delegates in order to influence the result of the party election.

"These individuals do not represent Abim. They do not share the views of other party leaders with regard to some policies. I believe we should resolve the differences via a fair and democratic forum like a party election," Chua told malaysiakini through a source today.

When asked about the manipulations that had already taken place at the division level, he reiterated that the undercutting activities did not represent Abim's intention.

He noted that the competition among the factions does not necessarily pose an adverse impact on the party.

"The party has to seek various ways of resolving the individual's problems," he said.

Chua, who is currently serving a two-year term under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in Kamunting, conceded that Keadilan as a young party will have weaknesses.

Noting that there is a lack of mechanism to deal with the problems, he nevertheless stressed that such issues cannot be put aside by the leaders.

He stated that a better understanding should be formed within the Keadilan leadership, especially for some of the differences to be re-examined in the local and international context following the terrorist attacks on Sept 11.

Meanwhile, he added, Keadilan will continue to expand and absorb new people into the leadership and the coming merger with PRM will boost their strength.

Nomination not important

On whether he would accept nomination to be re-elected as vice-president, he said whether he would be placed again in a leadership position is not important to him.

"Whoever is elected to the leadership position must continue to mobilise the people for reformasi," he said.

Chua also expressed his regret over deputy president Dr Chandra Muzaffar's refusal to seek re-election.

"The party benefitted a lot from his contribution. He was instrumental and played a vital role in forging BA and the initial establishment of the party. I am confident he will fight side by side in the struggle for reform, maybe in a different capacity," he said.

On whether he has anyone in mind for the new deputy president, he said that all quarters need to have a serious discussion to determine the suitable candidate.

Some divisions have already nominated a few names such as the treasurer Abdul Rahman Othman, Supreme Council member Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty, Lunas state assembly representative Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor.

Malaysia's duty

Chua also took the opportunity to refute Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's claim that Malaysia is already an Islamic state, claiming that the ISA would have been abolished if it were so.

He stressed that the fundamental issue is not the Islamic state, as the concept itself has different interpretations which needed more debate in the long term.

He said the terrorist attacks on Sept 11 has cast doubts of the non-Muslim community over Islam, and Malaysia as a multi-racial and multi-religious country has a duty to correct the misperception the world has of Islam.

He is worried that the Malaysian government under the Barisan Nasional will sow the culture of fear and manipulate the issue for its own political interests.

"The government needs to be transparent in dealing with terrorism. They should charge the suspects of terrorism in court and not detain them under the ISA," he said.

Keadilan is scheduled to hold its first party election from Nov 9 to 11. The deadline for nominations is Oct 27. The party is expected to announce the list of candidates the day after that.