Keadilan deputy president Dr Chandra Muzaffar today confirmed that he is stepping down from his post despite party leaders urging him to reconsider.

Chandra reiterated that he had given much thought about the views of his colleagues and friends but remained convinced that he should focus more on international intellectual work instead of domestic issues.

"It is vital that at this juncture, I focus my intellectual energies upon fundamental challenges in the international arena which are more significant than anything that is happening in the domestic sphere," he said in a statement.

Chandra said he will remain as a Keadilan member and continue to address important domestic issues from time to time, including the injustices against jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim and the leaders detained under the Internal Security Act.

"I have taken positions against injustices in Malaysian society for three decades now. It is not my character to remain silent in the face of wrong-doings," said the 54-year-old academician who has been the party deputy president since its establishment in 1999.

Leadership vacuum

On Oct 2, Chandra announced that he would not seek re-election in the party's election next month.

Following this, a meeting was called by the Keadilan Supreme Council which unanimously adopted a resolution to urge Chandra to reconsider his decision.

There was a fear within the party that Chandra's departure will leave a vacuum in the leadership, thus leading to a vigorous fighting for the post.

PRM leaders, who were widely expected to take over the baton of leadership, could not fill up the vacuum as the merger between both parties is now on hold after Keadilan failed to obtain a two-thirds majority to amend its constitution at a special general meeting in June.

Several Keadilan leaders who were supportive of the merger, such as vice-president Tian Chua and Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Noor, are currently undergoing a two-year ISA detention.

Meanwhile in his statement today, Chandra said he made up his mind as early as 1992 that international issues deserve much attention from the intellectuals in this country.

He added that was the reason he left Aliran in 1991, a social movement which he founded.

"Seen in this light, my sojourn in party politics starting from 1999 was a departure from academics and the non-governmental activism, both local and international, which has characterised my public life," he said.

No regrets

However, Chandra said he did not regret entering politics, adding that his brief involvement in Keadilan has reinforced his belief that integrity is the "most vital ingredient"in leadership.

"The conduct of politics should be guided by ethical principles, and one should never separate means from ends in the pursuit of power," he said.

Chandra also said he was touched by the support and solidarity shown by Keadilan leaders and members at all levels, adding that the bond between them is something he will cherish.

Chandra, who is also the president for the International Movement for a Just World, has been involved in various other non-governmental organisations, both international and local.

He was also a political science lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia from 1970 to 1983.

In 1997, he helped set up the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue at Universiti Malaya and was appointed its founding director. However, his contract was not renewed in 1998.

Chandra subsequently entered politics in 1999 when Keadilan was established after the sacking of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.

He contested in the general elections that year for the parliamentary seat of Bandar Tun Razak, garnering 21,049 votes, but lost to Barisan Nasional's Tan Chai Ho who won by a wafer-thin majority of 1,224.