PAS will only agree to a discussion with Umno if the issue is on national unity and not just only on Malay unity, party president Fadzil Noor said today.

Fadzil, who is also opposition leader told malaysiakini that while it was true that he had agreed to talks with Umno in principle, he would insist that the talks be about national unity, not Malay unity or unity of any particular race.

"Talking about Malay unity or of any race alone is not going to solve the country's problem," he said in a telephone interview.

"We will agree to any talks but we must firstly be told what is the format and formulae of the discussion before we agree," he added.

Fadzil was quoted by the New Straits Times yesterday as saying that PAS had agreed in principle to the proposed Malay unity talks and would not impose any pre-conditions.

Keadilan's president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail said yesterday that her party would prefer discussions on national unity and social justice instead of just focusing on Malay unity.

She also said that Umno's gesture is actually a tactic to divert the attention of the Malays from the rampant corrupt practices and cronyism in the government.

Other issues

Dr. Syed Husin Ali, who is PRM president went further to say yesterday that the proposed Malay unity talks is Umno's ploy to split the opposition front.

He said that if PRM was invited, his party will only be willing to discuss matters of national unity involving all citizens.

The three opposition allies have agreed that they would also want to discuss issues of corruption, mismanagement, growing authoritative control and the public's lack of confidence in the judiciary and the police, and the bailouts to help certain individuals.

Fadzil confirmed that PAS will consult the other component parties in BA before accepting or rejecting Umno's invitation.

He said no formal or informal invitation had been extended by Umno yet. He speculated that they (Umno) will do so once Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad returns from his two-day visit to Burma.

Earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that Mahathir should go ahead and hold a meeting on Malay unity with Fadzil and Dr. Wan Azizah.

He said the meeting would generally benefit the Malays as a whole as the basis of national unity has always been Malay unity.