Opposition leaders welcomed the decision by Keadilan to merge with PRM at its special annual general meeting yesterday.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) pro-tem committee president Dr Mohd Nasir Mohd Hashim told malaysiakini that the imminent merger would remove the 'socialist' stigma which has hobbled PRM for decades.

"The merger would give PRM a clear-cut solution - no more socialism, no need to suffer the stigma any more," he said.

In 1990, the party, which was formerly known as Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia, dropped the word 'socialist' from its name to become Parti Rakyat Malaysia.

Nasir and a few PRM members subsequently left the party to form Parti Sosialis Malaysia, whose registration is still awaiting approval for recognition from the Home Ministry.

Yesterday at the Angkasa Auditorium in Kelana Jaya, Keadilan delegates voted in support of merging with PRM after much speculation that delegates would call for a postponement of the plan.

Although the party failed to secure a two-thirds majority to "agree and accept" the constitutional amendments arising out of the merger, both party leaders say that the problem was merely a 'technical' matter.

Two of the most significant constitutional amendments involved changing the party's name to Parti Keadilan Rakyat Malaysia (PKRM) and adding red stripes on the left and right border of Keadilan's logo.

Front strengthened

Opposition Leader Fadzil Noor supported the merger and said, "It would further strengthen the front".

He told malaysiakini that he was not too concerned with PRM's ideology.

"PRM hardly talks about socialism these days. They are now more contemporary," said Fadzil, who is also president of PAS, the biggest party in the opposition Barisan Alternatif coalition.

Meanwhile, DAP national publicity secretary Ronnie Liu said that the merger plan endorsed by Keadilan delegates on Sunday was "very good".

"This will definitely strengthen both the parties and their relationship within the Barisan Alternatif," he added.

He added that the PRM-Keadilan merger would present the right equation to answer to the present political reality where PAS would bank on pro-Malay and -Muslim votes while DAP would concentrate on pro-Chinese communities.

"PRM-Keadilan would be the right answer for those who are in the middle ground," said Liu.

"Whatever our ideologies may be, we cannot escape this political reality," he clarified.

Some top BA leaders, who requested anonymity, said that the merger would not make a difference to the coalition.

"The bigger issue here is PAS and its policies. Whatever PAS does or says affect BA on the whole," one of them said.

New political order

PRM youth leader Latheefa Koya said the merger will give rise to a new political order which will purge racist and racial sentiments.

"PKRM will be the largest, purest multi-racial party in the history of Malaysia," she told malaysiakini.

"Inevitably, this will eliminate Umno, Barisan Nasional and its racist ideology in time to come," she added.

Latheefa, who is also a lawyer, said nearly 64 percent of Keadilan delegates have backed the merger.

"This is a good sign. The ones who oppose, do it because of sentiments. This is not a big problem," she said.

She said the Malays in both parties were not afraid of working together with other races for the betterment of society in general.

"Unlike Umno Malays, the Malays in PKRM are not paranoid. They do not perceive the non-Malays as wanting to cheat them of their wealth and rights," she said.