Within weeks, a new political entity, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) or the People's Justice Party, will be launched. Currently final details are being ironed out by the leaders of Keadilan and Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM).

The birth of PKR is not merely the end result of a union of two political parties. Both PRM and Keadilan have emerged under very special historical circumstances in the political development of our nation.

In contrast to the ruling Barisan Nasional's ethnic-based politics, PRM aspires to establish a society founded o­n the principles of democracy, fair distribution and multiracial integration. Despite tremendous repression and repeated setbacks, PRM has relentlessly bore the torch of this idealism which germinated half a century ago.

Meanwhile, Keadilan is a product of the consciousness of a new generation. As a reaction to 20 years of a o­ne-man autocratic rule, the people cried aloud for "reformasi". The rise of the reformasi movement was part of the wave of democratic change that swept across the region after the financial crisis a few years ago.