Parti Keadilan Nasional's fourth annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for this weekend has been deferred to allow party leaders to focus on getting ready for the general election, said president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

She told malaysiakini that the decision to defer the AGM to an unspecified date was made at a supreme council meeting last night. Its members agreed to give priority to the polls, due by next November, but which they believe will be held as early as next month.

"We have received information that the election is just around the corner, so we felt that we must focus our efforts to be at our best. As the underdog, we have to try our level best to win," she said when contacted this afternoon.

She said the decision would not jeopardise the party in any way or breach the Societies Act, since the AGM can be held any time before April 26 next year.

Rationale for decision

Vice-president Mohd Azmin Ali defended the decision, saying that any reasonable political party would place a general election higher than party meetings.

"It's only logical for us to give top priority to the general election. We want to be well prepared to overcome the constraints that most opposition parties face during elections. Even the ruling coalition would do the same," he said.

Asked if the postponement could spark speculation, Azmin said: "We cannot stop people from speculating, but the election is very important for us... and as a political party, we want to win. We have to move fast as we believe that the general election may be called late next month.

"There are many signals to suggest that it will be held soon. Only yesterday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi met with several mentris besar to finalise the list of election candidates.

"Our aim is to win the election. We want (to use the time) to mobilise party members and election workers at all levels to prepare for the polls."

Election machinery

Azmin also said Keadilan has established an election convention committee, which is headed by deputy president Abdul Rahman Othman.

He said it would conduct a series of conventions at national- and state-level, with the main focus being on Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Perak and Penang, which have been identified as holding the greatest potential for the party's chances.

"Through these conventions, party leaders and workers will be guided to fine-tune the local election machinery and find effective strategies to win as much support as possible," he said.

Asked if the party had finalised its list of candidates - as Barisan Alternatif (BA) ally PAS has done - Azmin said he expects to table the finalised list to the supreme council by next month.

"I received the names of shortlisted candidates from all the states on Nov 30. We now have to go through the details because we want to field only the best candidates," he said.

"We will have to ensure that they not only have a credible personality and clean record, but also that they will be accepted by voters."

Asked about the stalled negotiations between Keadilan and DAP over seat allocations, Azmin said this will resume soon.

" I have had unofficial discussions with DAP representatives and we have agreed to forget the past and move forward in the interests of voters. So we will meet formally later this month," he said.

He added that the party has completed its seat allocation negotiations with PAS in Selangor. An official announcement on this will be made in the first week of next month.