DAP to opt for 'amicable divorce' with PAS
However, the party will continue to maintain cordial ties and cooperation with the remaining members of the opposition coalition, which also include Keadilan and Parti Rakyat Malaysia, they added.
Party leaders added that the central executive committee members, who are due to meet this Wednesday, are expected to recommend to the party's upcoming general assembly that DAP quit BA.
The party is having its annual general assembly on Aug 18 and 19.
DAP leaders conceded last night that the picture was clearer now, and that they have to accede to the wishes of the party's grassroots.
"We have to move at the same momentum with them, not way ahead of them or lag behind them," said a party leader.
Another leader said that the party will be in deep trouble whether the party stays or leaves the opposition coalition.
"If we leave, the trouble may be for a short time only. But if we stay, we'll be in deeper trouble later," she said.
Even party chief Lim Kit Siang conceded that "if the BA leaders cannot find a formula to convince Malaysians that 'a vote for BA is not a vote for an Islamic state', it is time to consider another format of opposition cooperation to overcome such a fatal weakness".
Restoring democracy
He warned that if the "fatal weakness" of the BA over the Islamic state issue cannot be resolved, then the time has come for the coalition leaders to look at other alternatives and options.
BA leaders are due to meet tomorrow in what could be a last-ditch attempt to overcome the disagreements and persuade DAP to remain in the coalition.
However, Lim appeared to be preparing the grounds for the possibility of his party quitting the front.
"I, for one, do not want to see the co-operation and good relations which had been built by the BA parties, including between DAP and PAS, in the past three years go to waste," said Lim, at the party's 35th anniversary in Klang last night.
"We can still cooperate on the common objectives of restoring democracy, justice and good governance which brought us together in the BA in 1999, and we can continue to cooperate, if not in the BA format, then in another form," he added.
The conflict between the two BA partners erupted when PAS deputy president Abdul Hadi Awang, who is also Terengganu Mentri Besar, insisted that his party will not change its stand with regards to establishing an Islamic state if it comes to power.
BA leaders have met several times and tried to seek a formula to resolve the Islamic state issue but recent meetings proved that the two parties failed to reach a consensus.
In the wake of the controversy, PAS president Fadzil Noor has urged DAP not to leave the front, arguing that coalition partners should respect each other's ideology.
Last week, PRM and Keadilan issued a joint statement saying that "if BA succeeds to govern the country with the support of majority of the people, any attempt to amend the Federation Constitution to establish an 'Islamic state' or a 'Malaysian Malaysia' will not be agreed to by the other parties".
They added that "all parties in BA agree not to amend the nature of the Malaysian state without the support of two-thirds of the Malaysian people, through a referendum".
Calculated risks
Lim reiterated yesterday that the party's participation in BA was not "opportunism" on its part in hope of toppling the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition from power and sharing the spoils of office.
"This is not done in utter disregard and betrayal of the party's founding principle of a democratic, just and secular Malaysia," he said.
"It was meant to be a catalyst for unprecedented political change which could ensue when the ruling coalition loses its two-thirds parliamentary majority for the first time in Malaysian history."
Lim said DAP took calculated risks in joining BA to bring about a paradigm shift in Malaysian politics by ending the BN's political hegemony.
"However, events had proved that DAP paid a heavy price for the decision as the non-Malay and non-Muslim voters succumbed to the BN's propaganda campaign that a vote for DAP is a vote for PAS and an Islamic state," he said.
Lim said DAP sought to convince PAS and BA leaders on how urgent the matter was as the Islamic state issue would become a major issue in the next general elections.
He said the political scenario altered drastically in the past 21 months when various PAS leaders reiterated their pursuit of an Islamic state, thus mis-interpretating BA's common manifesto.
According to him, the question now was whether BA leaders can find a formula to convince Malaysians that a vote for BA is not a vote for an Islamic state, not just for the coming general elections but even after that.
"Is PAS prepared for instance to concede that although it is ideologically committed to the Islamic concept, an Islamic state is not suitable or feasible for a democratic plural society like Malaysia?" queried Lim.
