Pakatan Rakyat's top leadership announced today that the coalition will set up a disciplinary committee to handle inter-party frictions and solve members' disciplinary issues. It will be headed by PKR Voce-president and MP for Subang, R Sivarasa (below. left)

Opposition leader and PKR advisor Anwar Ibrahim announced this at a press conference held after a Pakatan leadership council meeting in Petaling Jaya.

"We also have other avenues for members to voice out their opinions as we have weekly meetings where dissatisfied members can talk about their grievances," he said.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang added that as parliamentarians representing the Pakatan coalition, they should make their decisions collectively.

The disciplinary committee would have 'more bite' in tackling issues of indiscipline and crises that cropped up in the coalition, said Anwar.

he said another committee headed by Husam Musa of PAS was also formed at today's meeting and was tasked with handling oil royalty matters.

On the caning meted out recently to three women under 'syariah' law at the Kajang prison earlier this month, Abdul Hadi was of the opinion that the whipping had not been done in compliance with Syariah's principles.

"We can only assume that the execution and due process of Syariah's principles have not been applied (because of the lack of information)," he said adding the important thing in 'syariah' was that the due process of justice had been complied with and whether the confessions of the guilty had been properly recorded.

"This is cheap political (tactic) used to influence Muslims who might not be very knowledgeable about Islam," he said.

'Country's dignity'

When asked, information chief Latheefa Koya who was also present at the press conference questioned the transparency and fairness of the punishment meted to the three women.

"Why are there no details as to the charge? What happened to those men who were involved in the offence?" she asked.

On the recent call by 50 Australian members of Parliament to the Malaysian government to drop the sodomy charge against Anwar, Hadi said he felt ashamed as a Malaysian as other country had to call on the government to drop the charge.

"We should question our government on their moves as this involves the dignity of the country," he added.

Anwar (above), meanwhile, questioned why external parties were questioning Malaysia's judiciary adding that he had no power to stop others from making statements about Malaysia.

"We must have the integrity to improve ourselves," he said, adding the call by the Australian parliamentarians was not an intervention into Malaysian administration.

"I can make comments about Gaza and Burma so can other countries," he said.

'Political trial'

DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, who was also present, questioned the need for the upcoming overseas visit by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail and former chief justice Abdul Hamid Mohamad

The trio will be speaking on Wednesday at a seminar hosted by an American bipartisan foreign policy think-tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, in Washington.

"If the Anwar's sodomy trial is not a 'political trial'(as said by the prime minister when refusing parliamentary special sitting on it), then why are they sending these three to win back America?" he asked.