From unity talks to intellectual discourse
S PathmawathyPublished: Jul 1, 2009 12:19 PM | Updated: Jul 1, 2009 9:06 PM
While the senior leaders of PAS have backed down from the proposed unity talks with arch-rivals Umno, the Youth wing of the Islamic party is, however, holding "intellectual discussions".
UPDATED 8.55PM
with PAS Youth statement
While PAS senior leaders have rejected holding unity talks with Umno, the party's Youth wing today started afresh by announcing 'intellectual discussions' with Umno Youth.
[VIDEO INSIDE]
While senior PAS leaders have backed down from the proposed unity talks with Umno, the Youth wing of the Islamic party will be holding what it describes as "intellectual discussions" with its arch-rival.
PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan announced the move today at a joint press conference with Umno Youth deputy chief Razali Ibrahim at the Parliament lobby.
Nasrudin (right) said the talks are aimed at resolving the political stand-off between the two parties.
First on the cards will be the establishment of a secretariat to enable the parties to work together.
Nasrudin and Razali told reporters that they have found common ground on forming a secretariat. According to them, the secretariat will decide the agenda for the talks which will focus on national issues.
"We are positive that this is the first of many more fruitful discussions to address issues pertaining to national interests [...] we hope this is an initial point to engage in an intellectual manner to solve issues," said Nasrudin.
PAS, he said, has suggested making the discussions public, so that the people could see how the two political parties are able to resolve their differences via an intellectual approach.
Razali (right), who accepted PAS' letter on the behalf of Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, stressed that commitment to such a dialogue is for the betterment of the country.
"This is not to gain political mileage but to tackle universal issues of importance to Malaysians," said Razali.
"If we work on this together honestly and with trust, I think many problems can be solved."
Razali said the secretariat will sort out issues related to logistics and technicalities before any timeframe is set for the talks.
Anwar leaves it to PAS
Pakatan Rakyat leader Anwar Ibrahim refused to comment on this latest development, saying he prefers to let PAS deal with the matter.
DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke, however, said he is upset that PAS Youth has initiated the talks without informing their partners in Pakatan.
"Even if the talks do not include the issue of a unity government, PAS Youth should have had the courtesy to inform other Pakatan Youth wings about their intention," he told Malaysiakini.
He said the looming confusion among the grassroots and Pakatan supporters cannot be avoided now since PAS' top leadership had resoundingly rejected any talks of a unity government only last week.
“I don’t know why they had to bring it up at this juncture, especially with the approaching Manek Urai by-election where PAS will fight Umno," said Loke, questioning the timing of the announcement.
Pakatan Youth wings were to have met on Monday to discuss the formation of a Pakatan Youth Council but the meeting was cancelled.
Loke said he is willing to raise the matter with the Pakatan central committee.
The unity talks with Umno were mooted by PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang and backed by his deputy Nasharuddin Mat Isa.
However, they faced a severe backlash from the party, including from party spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat and influential leader Husam Musa.
Pressure was also put on Hadi by other Pakatan leaders, including Anwar, which eventually resulted in the idea being dropped.
PAS Youth clarifies meeting
In a latest development, PAS Youth released a statement this evening denying that the proposed dialouge with their political rival had anything to do with unity talks.
Six hours after the joint press conference with Umno Youth, PAS Youth Secretary Kamaruzaman Mohamad clarified that the proposed meeting was to discuss 'whether Umno's struggle is against Islam'.
He described the joint secretariat to be set us as a "technical secretariat" which will only "discuss the time, date, place, participants and format" of the discourse.
"The discourse is a follow-up to the challenge by PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz for a debate with Prime Minister (Najib Abdul Razak) over the deviation of Umno's struggle," said Kamaruzaman.
"The invitation to hold the discourse follows an earlier challenge for a debate by Kelantan Umno Youth to Nik Aziz over the same issue.
'Therefore, the suggestion for the discourse was brought up to find the truth regarding the issue intellectually."
He also threatened to take legal action against media outlets which he claimed had twisted the issue.
VIDEO l 5 mins
PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan announced the move today at a joint press conference with Umno Youth deputy chief Razali Ibrahim at the Parliament lobby.Nasrudin (right) said the talks are aimed at resolving the political stand-off between the two parties.
First on the cards will be the establishment of a secretariat to enable the parties to work together.
Nasrudin and Razali told reporters that they have found common ground on forming a secretariat. According to them, the secretariat will decide the agenda for the talks which will focus on national issues.
"We are positive that this is the first of many more fruitful discussions to address issues pertaining to national interests [...] we hope this is an initial point to engage in an intellectual manner to solve issues," said Nasrudin.
PAS, he said, has suggested making the discussions public, so that the people could see how the two political parties are able to resolve their differences via an intellectual approach.
Razali (right), who accepted PAS' letter on the behalf of Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, stressed that commitment to such a dialogue is for the betterment of the country."This is not to gain political mileage but to tackle universal issues of importance to Malaysians," said Razali.
"If we work on this together honestly and with trust, I think many problems can be solved."
Razali said the secretariat will sort out issues related to logistics and technicalities before any timeframe is set for the talks.
Anwar leaves it to PAS
Pakatan Rakyat leader Anwar Ibrahim refused to comment on this latest development, saying he prefers to let PAS deal with the matter.
DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke, however, said he is upset that PAS Youth has initiated the talks without informing their partners in Pakatan.
"Even if the talks do not include the issue of a unity government, PAS Youth should have had the courtesy to inform other Pakatan Youth wings about their intention," he told Malaysiakini.
He said the looming confusion among the grassroots and Pakatan supporters cannot be avoided now since PAS' top leadership had resoundingly rejected any talks of a unity government only last week.
“I don’t know why they had to bring it up at this juncture, especially with the approaching Manek Urai by-election where PAS will fight Umno," said Loke, questioning the timing of the announcement.
Pakatan Youth wings were to have met on Monday to discuss the formation of a Pakatan Youth Council but the meeting was cancelled.
Loke said he is willing to raise the matter with the Pakatan central committee.
The unity talks with Umno were mooted by PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang and backed by his deputy Nasharuddin Mat Isa.
However, they faced a severe backlash from the party, including from party spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat and influential leader Husam Musa.
Pressure was also put on Hadi by other Pakatan leaders, including Anwar, which eventually resulted in the idea being dropped.
PAS Youth clarifies meeting
In a latest development, PAS Youth released a statement this evening denying that the proposed dialouge with their political rival had anything to do with unity talks.
Six hours after the joint press conference with Umno Youth, PAS Youth Secretary Kamaruzaman Mohamad clarified that the proposed meeting was to discuss 'whether Umno's struggle is against Islam'.
He described the joint secretariat to be set us as a "technical secretariat" which will only "discuss the time, date, place, participants and format" of the discourse.
"The discourse is a follow-up to the challenge by PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz for a debate with Prime Minister (Najib Abdul Razak) over the deviation of Umno's struggle," said Kamaruzaman.
"The invitation to hold the discourse follows an earlier challenge for a debate by Kelantan Umno Youth to Nik Aziz over the same issue.
'Therefore, the suggestion for the discourse was brought up to find the truth regarding the issue intellectually."
He also threatened to take legal action against media outlets which he claimed had twisted the issue.
VIDEO l 5 mins
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