One of the hot topics to be discussed in the gathering of Keadilan's Indian Malaysian members on Sunday is how supreme council members allegedly "bulldozed their way to curb and control presidential prerogative".

Some of the leaders were said to have pressured Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail into supporting certain decisions like the merger proposal with PRM.

Keadilan Shah Alam division committee member GA Lingam, who spoke on behalf of the organising committee for the meeting, told malaysiakini that the Indian Malaysian leaders in the party were going ahead with the meeting as the situation was "serious".

Lingam said the meeting held at the party's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur will be chaired by supreme council member N Gobalakrishnan and former Youth exco S Manikavasagam, who recently relinquished his posts in the Youth wing because he was unhappy with the party's treatment of Indian Malaysian members.

"The meeting is to enable members to voice their opinions, grievances and protest against the way the AGM in Sungai Petani last month was handled," Lingam said, adding that members from other ethnic groups will also be invited to attend the meeting.

"All proposals and counter-proposals will be directed to the president for further action," he added.

Merger discussion

Lingam said the members will discuss several issues related to the merger between the two parties and the dissatisfaction of members for not being allowed to debate resolutions during the annual meet.

"With the bad sound system in the hall that weekend, we were somehow misled to accept or reject the merger proposal," he said.

The impending merger with PRM has stalled for more than a year because Keadilan failed to convince its delegates to amend the constitution at its AGM in Kemaman last year.

Since its proposal, the merger idea has been opposed by groups linked with the Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement or Abim.

But the party managed to obtain a two-third majority at the AGM last month to implement the merger although delegates walked out and there were letters circulating in the hall which protested at the way the meeting was conducted.

Lingam said other topics of discussion such as problems faced by the Indian community in Malaysia and the 'mysterious' deaths of Indian Malaysians in police custody will also be raised.

Teething problems

In an immediate response, Keadilan president Wan Azizah said that she has had several meetings with the party's Indian Malaysian leaders to hear their grouses.

Wan Azizah reiterated that the party was multiracial and would try its best to iron out the current problems of Indian Malaysians.

She said though she was unable to attend the meeting this Sunday because it clashes with a function held in her constituency, Permatang Pauh, she was willing to "listen to whatever issues raised".

"But decisions on actions will be made collectively. We are stakeholders of democracy and we must practise it...this is a new party and there are bound to be new challenges," she added, referring to the party's response to the members' grouses.

Meanwhile, supreme council leader Dr Xavier Jeyakumar said he was not in favour of the meeting but will attend it anyway to express his views.

He questioned the need to discuss the amendments to the constitution related to the merger as the changes have been passed by two-thirds of the delegates present at the AGM.

He explained that the amendments were "technical" and considered the group's dissatisfaction as "pure ignorance".

"The amendments were discussed at length in the supreme council and then brought to the divisional and branch levels before the AGM. Why complain now?" he asked.

In favour of merger

On the allegations that party leaders tried to "curb and control presidential prerogative", Xavier said Wan Azizah herself was in favour of the merger.

"No one is using the president. Who is curbing and controlling her?" he queried.

Since the AGM last month, the party seemed beset with more factionalism and intra-party squabbles, especially in the Youth wing led by Lunas state assembly representative Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.

The Youth wing was heavily criticised in the annual meet that weekend as well as in the party's organ Berita Keadilan which carried a report of the party leaders' performances in its Oct 22 edition.

At the AGM, Youth leaders fought back, leading to the sudden resignation of Berita Keadilan editor Khalid Jaafar.