news analysis

Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has little reason to smile these days having failed to get the opposition together. With DAP quitting the opposition Barisan Alternatif over the Islamic state issue, she will have to start all over again the messy business of forming a coalition.

To add insult to injury, she is now faced with political infighting among Keadilan leaders for party posts in its maiden general assembly this Saturday.

With PAS, PRM and Keadilan - which has also been the main sanctuary for political defections from Umno and DAP - left in BA, the reality is that no one really knew what the opposition front actually stood for, especially when DAP, now outside of BA, continues to chastise PAS on its Islamic state plan.

The problems are compounded by uncertainties about what kind of cooperation these parties should forge. One reason is that the opposition parties in this country often compete politically. As long as the ambiguity remains, says an observer, the opposition will be in permanent crisis.

The DAP-PAS crisis and later the DAP pullout from BA, are examples of fundamental disputes which will continue to erode the opposition pact's ability to reach a consensus on controversial issues.

"The public recognises the work Azizah has done," says a political analyst, "but they think she and others got to make additional effort if Malaysians were to put complete trust in the opposition."

Continuing struggle

The Islamic state issue reflects a desire by both DAP and PAS leadership to ensure that they do not lose out in preparation for the 2004 general election. Despite that DAP has pulled out from BA, the Islamic state divide is expected to remain.

The bickering among the opposition also casts fresh doubts on the staying power of BA as an alternative to the ruling Barisan Nasional. It also reflects the continuing struggle within BA to define the opposition's future among different parties, which leaders range from liberals like Keadilan and PRM to "political extremists" like PAS and DAP.

Such volatile ingredients had presented Wan Azizah with a difficult choice. She could either push DAP out of BA and risk alienating the non-Malay support who look to DAP for leadership. Or she could accommodate PAS and see the possibility of her own party's influence in BA weakened. She had to find ways to try balance the influence of DAP and PAS within the opposition pact. However, before she could decide, DAP quit BA.

Many voters feel that the BA has failed to deliver the ethnically-diverse administration it promised.

Perhaps the fate of the previous opposition pact - Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah and Gagasan - can serve as a reminder to the opposition parties, especially PAS and DAP, that real-world politics requires constant engagement and cooperation.

Perhaps it could also serve as a reminder to Keadilan delegates when they meet this weekend that there are bigger issues at hand. Rather than letting the party's internal power squabbles take the front seat, they should be looking back at the party's main objectives to be an alternative to Umno, and subsequently lead the opposition coalition effectively to face BN in the next general elections.

NASH RAHMAN is senior analyst for Strategic Analysis Malaysia (SAM), a private political research company.