Suqiu's 17-point election appeal which was presented to the government before last year's general elections never violated the Federal Constitution, the Chinese lobby reiterated today.

In a statement released this evening, Suqiu (Malaysian Chinese Organisations' Election Appeal Committee) said that they respected and supported all the fundamental principles of the Constitution, particularly Article 153 regarding "the special positions of the Malays and natives of any of the states of Sabah and Sarawak".

Therefore, they said, any interpretations on the contents of Suqiu should be based within this context.

They stressed that Suqiu pursued a united, democratic, liberal, tolerant, progressive, just , prosperous, and caring Malaysian society, in line with the spirit of Vision 2020 proposed by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"We also want to take this opportunity to reiterate that Suqiu is a vision encompassing various concerns, from national unity, democracy and political reform, human rights, anti-corruption, judiciary, socio-economical justice, education, environmental protection, multiculturalism, housing policy, professionalism of the police and mass media, women's rights, workers' rights to the indigenous people's rights," Suqiu added.

They also expressed support for the proposal by Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein who suggested a dialogue with Suqiu to end the controversy over Suqiu's election appeal, which contains 83 sub-points.

"We welcome a dialogue with any party. We believe that a dialogue is the right way to communicate and seek consensus in any rational and democratic modern society," Suqiu said.