MALAYSIA: Provincial Polls, Wake Up Call for Badawi

By Baradan Kuppusamy Reprint | | Print |

Baradan Kuppusamy

KUALA LUMPUR, May 23 2006 (IPS) - Malaysia’s ruling National Front coalition won the elections, last week, in timber and oil-rich Sarawak – the country’s biggest state and also one of the poorest – but it is a coalition of opposition parties, led by charismatic opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, that is celebrating.

The opposition went into the May 20 election with a single seat but came back with nine, in its best ever showing since 1987. While this is a small number in the 71-seat Sarawak assembly, the political aftershocks are being felt across the country.

In many constituencies the ruling party won by reduced majorities – tens of thousands of votes falling to the opposition in several constituencies.

“This indicates a general dissatisfaction with the ruling Abdullah government,” said Lim Guan Eng, secretary general of the opposition Democratic Action Party or DAP, which fared well in the polls. “Our victory has rejuvenated us-our morale is up,” Lim told IPS.

The results have shaken the Sarawak government, led by the long serving but much disliked chief minister, Taib Mahmud, who is 70 years old and ill with colon cancer but refuses to step down.

The political future of Mahmud, who has been chief minister for almost 30 years, is not threatened but the reverses in distant Sarawak are already having a telling effect in Kuala Lumpur, seat of the government of Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi.

“Although we lost several seats, this is in fact a big win,” Mahmud said. “It should not be taken as a victory for the opposition.”

The victors are two opposition parties that have been critical of Abdullah’s failure to translate election pledges into policy changes.

Corruption remains a bane of the government and civil service. The police force refuses to be reigned in, the economy is flagging and civil society is not taking root, despite a freer media and more room given for debate.

The opposition victory has raised their morale and now, emboldened, they are expected to press Badawi to deliver on his pledges.

Badawi, who was overseas when the results came in, was shocked. He has ordered a postmortem, though many say it does not need an investigation to see what caused the defeat.

Political analysts say the backlash was primarily from better educated, more outwardly mobile, urban voters who are disenchanted by undelivered promises.

The results are significant because it is the first electoral test for Badawi, after he won a huge mandate in April 2004.

The setback comes in the backdrop of increasing criticism from many quarters – from former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to Muslim clerics, opposition leaders and human rights activists. They are questioning Badawi’s leadership abilities and the uncertain direction of the economy.

In a candid speech, a day before voting, Abdullah admitted his administration might appear “listless and directionless”, but said his political and economic policies need time to bear fruit.

Although Ibrahim’s National Justice Party won only one seat, it has enhanced his image as a leader who can put together and lead a credible opposition coalition.

Ibrahim is banned from holding political office or contesting election until April 2008 (because of a corruption conviction).

“The people were fed-up with the monopoly of big businesses and politicians,” Ibrahim said. “I walked for seven hours and all along the way, the people understood immediately when we spoke about land issues, fuel price hike and corruption.”

“The people are clearly and unequivocally against corruption and nepotism,” Ibrahim said in a statement. “The outcome shows the hope for change is very bright in Malaysia.”

Another of his allies, the fundamentalist Pan Malaysian Islamic Party or PAS that campaigned on an Islamic platform, lost in all the constituencies it contested.

It is apparent that their brand of religious politics is not popular in this state where secularism is well entrenched.

Another reason why urban voters turned against Badawi is anger over the rising cost of living, sparked by three fuel hikes in a year. The last hike, in February, was big and sprung on the people without warning and put the government under severe criticism.

According to opposition leader Lim Kit Siang, inflation caused by the fuel hikes hit a seven year high of 4.8 percent in March and 4.6 percent in April this year. National oil company ‘Petronas’ made huge profits from the price hike and, much of that came from oil-producing Sarawak – a bitter twist that the DAP exploited during campaigning.

Political analysts said Ibrahim’s campaign, promising a clean and transparent government, appealed to upwardly mobile urban voters.

If urban voters rejected the government, rural Malay and tribal voters in Sarawak’s hinterland continued to back the ruling National Front.

The government’s share of the popular vote went down from 71.16 percent in 2001 to 62.14 percent in 2006, while all opposition parties, except PAS, registered large gains. About 65 percent of the 859,061 registered voters cast their ballots in the election..

The income disparity among the people is another cause for unhappiness and dissatisfaction that had translated into votes for the opposition.

The United Nations Human Development Report 2005 shows Malaysia has the worst income inequality in South-East Asia with the richest 10 percent in Malaysia, controlling 38.4 percent of national income, as compared to the 1.7 percent of the poorest tenth of the people.

“Sarawak voters have spoken loud and clear that despite threats, intimidation and vote-buying, they have the courage to vote opposition for change,” said Lim. “It is a wake up call for Abdullah Badawi.”