The independence of the judiciary, especially concerning the sodomy and corruption trials of jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, is one of PAS' proposed items in the much-anticipated talk that it will be holding with Umno next Monday.

"PAS will discuss the issue of the improprieties within the judicial system, centering on the Anwar trials, and will propose a solution to it," PAS secretary-general Nasharuddin Mat Isa said today.

Anwar is serving two jail terms totalling 15 years for corruption and sodomy, after being sacked and tried amidst much controversy. He has been undergoing treatment for his chronic back pain at the KL hospital since last November.

Besides the Anwar debacle, PAS will be submitting three main issues for discussion: the relationship between the federal government and the two states under PAS control (Kelantan and Terengganu); the misuse of public funds to bail out selected companies; and Umno's call for the word 'Islam' to be dropped from PAS' name.

The agenda for the talks was finalised last night at a party meeting.

Nasharuddin said the party will insist that the meeting with Umno be renamed 'National Unity Talks'.

Oil royalty

"For starters, among the issues proposed (for the talks), will be the return of the oil royalty of Terengganu as has been written in the agreement (with Petronas)," he said.

After PAS wrested the state government of Terengganu in the 1999 general elections, the federal government decided that it is not bound by the Petronas agreement to pay oil royalty to Terengganu. It renamed the oil royalty as wang ehsan (goodwill payment), which the government is not bound to pay.

Another issue to be discussed in the context of the rape of democracy is "the need to return to 'federalism' and the spirit of the constitution to enhance the relations between the federal government and the state governments".

On the economic malaise, the views of the people with regard to the misuse of public funds that are dispersed without following procedure and for dubious purposes will be brought up. The funds of concern include the Employees Provident Fund, Pension Fund and Tabung Haji.

"The issue of Islam being sidelined and its rightful role will be raised, especially with regard to the proposal by Umno that 'Islam' be dropped from names of organisations, including political parties," added Nasharuddin.

Police brutality

PAS will also submit the issue of police brutality in opposition ceramah , particularly referring to the recent Sabak Bernam (Selangor) and Kubang Pasu (Kedah) incidents.

Police allegedly moved in on a crowd attending a Keadilan ceramah at a house in Sabak Bernam last Saturday and allegedly fired tear gas and acid-laced water into a crowd at a similar gathering in Kubang Pasu last night.

Nasharuddin also said that PAS regards the revelations by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and a few other Umno leaders, of the decisions at the meeting of the two parties' technical committees as going against what had been decided in the meeting itself.

Referring to The Star report on Feb 11, which quoted Mahathir as saying that national unity is part of Malay unity, PAS said that this remark by the prime minister has hurt many other citizens and opposition supporters.