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Malaysian Ruling Party May Hold Talks With Islamic Opposition
by Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA (IslamOnline) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad admitted Sunday that his party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), is facing serious internal problems.
He added that in the wake of the ongoing crisis on Malay special rights, his party might hold talks with the Islamic opposition.
Observers in Kuala Lumpur said this is not the first time Mahathir has offered the olive branch to the opposition Party Islam Se Malaysia (PAS). He said the UMNO was prepared to discuss matters in order to solve internal problems with the PAS in an effort to ensure Malay unity.
However, analysts are surprised that Mahathir would want to hold talks with a party headed by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, wife of Anwar Ibrahim, the jailed Malay leader.
With the extended offer to include Anwar Ibrahim’s National Justice Party (NJP) and his supporters in possible talks, observers believe it is an unexpected recognition of the NJP as a potential Malay force on the political scene.
"We will consider having discussions if the situation is conducive," he told reporters on arrival at the Sultan Abdul Halim Airport in Kepala Batas in the state of Kedah on Sunday.
An academician, Datuk Ahmad Fawzi Mohamed Basri, deputy vice chancellor of students' affairs at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), recently said that UMNO should hold discussions with the PAS and Keadilan in order to strengthen Malay unity.
Mahathir said that the UMNO has always stressed unity and never promoted divisiveness among its members. After general elections in 1999 in which Mahathir’s party won decisively, the aging Premier said he wished his party could discuss and work together with the PAS in the two provincial states won by the Islamists.
Revealing that his party had serious internal problems, the Premier stressed the county’s problems centered on the future of the major Malay party in the country, the UMNO.
He said a closed-door meeting of 35 UMNO Supreme Council members in Putrajaya was held on Saturday. Disclosing that no decision was made, Mahathir said he spoke to a limited number of members on how to overcome the problems.
The future of the party had been called into question as a result of a clash between Mahathir and his heir apparent, Anwar Ibrahim, in 1998. The showdown between the two resulted in the sentencing of Anwar to15 years in jail on sodomy and abuse of power convictions.
This resulted in the UMNO losing its power base and two important Malay majority states in 1999 elections. It also lost its majority within the ruling National Front (NF) coalition, triggering a series of crises.
In a Christmas message taking into account the current political environment, Mahathir said the government would use existing legal provisions to act against those harping on religious and racial sentiments to destroy the country's harmony.
He said the government seriously viewed attempts by those who used such issues for their own community's interests to exert influence and attract attention as selfish opportunists.
"The people must realize that in a multi-racial country like Malaysia, inter-racial unity and co-operation are important factors to ensure stability, progress and prosperity," he said in the Christmas message released Saturday.
National unity has been a matter of central concern recently following the presentation of an 83-point demand list by the Malaysian Chinese Organizations' Elections Appeals Committee (Siqiu).
Their demands, especially on Malay rights issues, have led to strong protests by several groups, prompting the government to end further open debates on the matter in an effort to "cool things" down.
However, the debate continues to rage despite appeals by various leaders not to let emotions rule actions. They warned Chinese groups of possible reactions from other quarters over their “extreme” demands.
The Federation of Peninsular Malay Students (GPMS), outraged by the demands, has been the most vocal.
The student body plans to submit counter demands in the form of a memorandum containing approximately 100 proposals on a broad range of issues affecting the country to the government.
The GPMS also plans to hold large-scale demonstrations in every state unless Siqiu withdraws its demands.
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