The failure of former Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement's president, Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty, to win Keadilan's deputy president post is an indication that party members are not giving due respect to deserving leaders.

"Its implication is that in the eyes of Keadilan members, Abdul Rahman Osman (the new deputy president), is much better than Dr Muhammad in term of values and ideas," says Abim president Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman.

"We had expected to see the emergence of new politics which gives due respect to knowledgeable leaders and where contestants adhere strictly to the code of ethics. But the election has turned out to be an Abim versus Keadilan fight," he said in an exclusive interview published in Utusan Malaysia today.

The Abim faction lost all the major contests in the recent Keadilan party elections to a loose coalition of NGOs and former Umno members.

Muhammad added that Abim members were singled out as conservatives who could not get along with non-Muslims, were power greedy, and wanted to dominate the party.

"The allegations has tarnished Abim's image. It seems that Keadilan is like any other political party where unsubstantiated issues are used to win party elections," he said.

Less effective contribution

Azam said with virtually no Abim's members holding top party posts in Keadilan, their contribution will be less effective now.

Asked why Abim was seen lately as becoming more active in politics, Azam said: "The brand of politics in Abim is based on principles and is issue-oriented. It is different from that of a power-oriented political party."

"We support the government's foreign policy because it benefits Islam. Abim also supports (Prime Minister) Mahathir Mohamad's firm stance against terrorism, the call to stop US-air strikes on Afghanistan, and to establish closer ties with Islamic nations.

"But we have different opinions on other issues like the Internal Security Act, which we feel should be reviewed - as the law was (back) then formulated to fight the communists," he said.

He added that Abim is also against government's discrimination when it comes to channelling development projects away from opposition-held constituencies.