The New Nation - Internet Edition

Dr.Abdul Ruff

The biggest sea-change has taken place in Malaysian politics in almost 40 years with opposition Islamists and reformists winning control of five states in snap polls held on the 8th of March and giving the government a humiliating wake-up call. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's multi-racial National Front coalition, which had won an unprecedented 90% of all seats in parliament last election in 2004, has now won just a simple majority in parliament. Barisan Nasional party has effectively ruled since independence from Britain in 1957. Malaysia's Parliament was dissolved on February 13, 2008, The poll, called before it was due in May 2009, was widely seen as a referendum on Badawi's rule.

Results from the elections commission showed the National Front with 140 seats or 63.1% parliamentary seats in the 222-seat parliament versus 82 for the opposition or 36.9% of. Another major shock for the Barisan came in Penang where after 36 years of continuous rule, it lost to a loose alliance of opposition parties DAP, PKR and Pas. The opposition will form the next state government in Penang for second time in history. Gerakan, then an opposition party, won Penang almost 40 years ago. In the parliamentary poll the National Front lost its two-thirds majority - needed to make constitutional changes - and control of four state assemblies. It did, however, win a simple majority, taking 139 out of 219 seats, with three more seats yet to declare. Opposition figure Anwar Ibrahim hailed the result as a message that it was time for change in Malaysia. Anwar's Justice Party has 31 seats out of the opposition's 82 so far, making him the leader of the opposition.

Malaysia's main ruling party, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has decided to keep Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as both its leader and prime minister and he has since assumed office. A key partner in the multi-racial coalition, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), dismissed speculation the party might pull out of the coalition that has ruled Malaysia uninterrupted since independence from Britain in 1957, and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) followed suit after the UMNO meeting. Malaysia's ruling Barisan National coalition was considered certain to be re-elected in the poll, but risks a backlash by Buddhist ethnic Chinese and Hindu ethnic Indians. The opposition, which wants to deny Barisan a two-thirds majority in parliament, the level needed to change the constitution, drew a protest vote over rising food and fuel costs, street crimes and an influx of cheap foreign labor.

Abdullah's poor performance nationally was compounded by the fact that his own home state, the industrial heartland of Penang, fell to the opposition. Abdullah, who only four years ago led the coalition to a record election victory on a wave of hope for change, faced a bleak political future, his aides stunned but not willing to concede that he must step down. "Frankly, this is not really the time because a lot of component parties (of Barisan) have been decimated," one close aide said. "We have lost a few people and I think it's time to consolidate." Though Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's Barisan Nasional party won all the six seats, it lost in provincial polls in Penang and Kelantan. Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) President Vellu, who had served eight terms in Parliament and was Works Minister of Malaysia for long, was given the worst birthday gift on a day he turned 72. Another high-profile candidate who lost today was Family Welfare Minister Shahrizat, who was defeated by political novice Nurul Izza Anwar, daughter of former deputy premier and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.

The opposition won in Kelantan as well as Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Penang. There are many people who have as many suspicions about Anwar as about the National Front's leaders. The streets of Kuala Lumpur were unusually quiet after the declaration of poll results, with many older Malaysians fearful of trouble. The last time the coalition suffered a heavy setback, in 1969, race riots erupted. "I am shocked. It feels Malaysia is a whole new country. It feels like it has been reborn, a 27-year-old civil engineer, said shopping in the capital. Some people are glad that Malaysia now had a strong opposition to press the government. "It's good to give some pressure for Barisan Nasional," they reason. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has been Prime Minister since 2003, resisted calls to resign. Abdullah urged calm, amid fears there may be violence in the wake of the result. Apsfrrty spokes-person, Khairy Jamaluddin, told reporters: "We suffered a lot of losses tonight. But we are going to fight on. We are not going to quit. It is not the end of the world and we are going to get through this." Chinese and Indian ethnic minority voters deserted the National Front, in power since 1957.

Analysts blame ethnic tensions, crime and inflation for a drop in his government's popularity. Ethnic minorities make up more than a third of the population. Many complain that government policy has denied them fair access to jobs, education, and housing. Growing tensions between minority communities and the Malay majority have dominated the election campaign and the government has appealed for calm. The last time the National Front suffered a big setback, in 1969, it resulted in race riots, dozens of deaths and a state of emergency. Malaysia is largely a mix of ethnic Malays, which make up about 55 percent of the population, and ethnic Chinese and Indians, who account for about a third. The pro-government media, Abdullah's cheer-leader during the campaign, changed tack on 09 March, urging Barisan to ensure better job and education opportunities in this multi-racial nation.

It appears anti-incumbency factor has aided to reduce the performance of the ruling coalition and helped the opposition to make inroads into ruling pockets. Hatred campaign was an added attraction in the poll result. The leftist Chinese-backed Democratic Action Party (DAP) won Penang, the hub for Malaysia's electronics industry, which accounts for about half of exports.

The opposition Islamist party PAS scored shock victories in the northern heartland states of Kedah and Perak and easily retained power in its stronghold in northeastern Kelantan state. DAP and PAS also joined the People's Justice Party, or Party Keadilan, to take control of the industrial state of Selangor and almost all the seats in capital Kuala Lumpur.

A protest vote from Chinese and Indians, upset over what they saw as racial inequality in terms of business, job and education opportunities, had been expected. The Indians were merciless, voting out the leader of the coalition's Indian component party and handing a seat to an Indian activist currently in detention.

In India politicians make a big hue and cry when a foreigner contests an election or tries to be promoted to a cabinet position or so, but abroad Indians also know how to secure berths in cabinets and try hard even to reach the top slot of government and state power. More than 20,000 ethnic Indians attended the rally organized by the group on November 25 last year in Kuala Lumpur. Their grouse was mainly against Vellu, who they claimed had not done enough to uplift the minority community in over two decades since he had held the post. But Malays, who are all Muslims and traditionally support Barisan in good times and bad, completed a perfect storm for the government, handing the opposition Islamists a record vote in what was perceived as a protest against rising prices. "Tomorrow we will start building a brighter future," said opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, de facto leader of Party Keadilan, which emerged as the biggest opposition party in federal parliament with 31 seats. "This is a new dawn for Malaysia." Anwar, a Malay and former deputy premier, is widely seen as the only politician who could unify the ideologically divided opposition into a coherent and credible political force, though many political experts see this an almost possible task. Anwar was banned from standing in the elections because of a criminal record-he spent six years in jail until 2004 on what he called trumped-up charges-but is expected to take over his old seat from his wife, who has held it since his 1998 jailing.

Consisting of two regions separated by some 640 miles of the South China Sea, Malaysia is a federation of 13 states and three federal territories. It is one of the region's key tourist destinations, offering excellent beaches and brilliant scenery. Dense rainforests in the eastern states of Sarawak and Sabah, on the island of Borneo, are a refuge for wildlife and tribal traditions. Malaysia's economic prospects remain healthy, although it faces fierce competition from its neighbors, and from China and India.

Malaysia boasts one of south-east Asia's most vibrant economies, the fruit of decades of industrial growth and political stability. Its multi-ethnic, multi-religious society encompasses a majority Muslim population in most of its states and an economically-powerful Chinese community. ethnic Chinese continue to hold economic power and are the wealthiest community. Free trade talks were opened with the US, but the US has said it will not be able to conclude a deal in 2007 as the two sides failed to meet a deadline to secure a deal before President George W Bush's fast-track trade authority expired in June.

The country is among the world's biggest producers of computer disk drives, palm oil, rubber and timber. It has a state-controlled car maker, Proton, and tourism has considerable room for expansion. But it also faces serious challenges - politically, in the form of sustaining stability in the face of religious differences and the ethnic wealth gap, and, environmentally, in preserving its valuable forests. Malaysia's human rights record has come in for international criticism. Internal security laws allow suspects to be detained without charge or trial.

Political experts and economists wondered aloud whether the Barisan government could now pursue its agenda, including plans for $325 billion in development zones across the country. Without a two-thirds parliamentary majority, Barisan can no longer change the constitution or make some key appointments.

"This is probably not good news for the equity market or the ringgit," according to a Singapore-based head of Asia Research for Investment Banking. When all other South East Asian (SEA) countries are developing faster and so much ahead of Malaysia in this era of Asian economic dynamism and globalization, many feel that Malaysia is heading to the place of no-where. Malaysia, being the world's palm oil exporter and a net oil exporter, should well be on par or exceed the economic performances of Taiwan or South Korea.

One fails to understand how the Hindutva forces, actively harboring the anti-Islamic sentiments in India and Nepal-and vitiated the political and cultural atmosphere in Indian sub-continent with dirty poison- have, like the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), also entered the poll fray in Malaysia, though, that is not the only cause strengthening the opposition that has affected the fortunes of the ruling front. (India should also promote similar non-Indian ethnic groupings in its political spectrum too, in stead of trying to diffuse them in Indian parties and suppressing their voices.)

However, the Malaysian ruling coalition now actually faces the danger of getting its majority dented and it has to be seen how the ruling front the Barisan National (BN) recaptures its lost ground and prestige in the coming days. With the ruling coalition back in power, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would try to revive the importance it had in the past.