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Unprecedented Election Setback for Ruling Party in Malaysia
by Patrick Goodenough
(CNSNews.com) - Malaysia was hit by a political tsunami at the weekend when an early election deprived the ruling coalition of a two-thirds majority and created a viable opposition for the first time in the history of the predominantly Muslim country.
Ethnic Chinese and Indians, who comprise 25 percent and eight percent of the population respectively, have been increasingly unhappy about religious freedom issues and affirmative action economic policies favoring Muslim Malays.
After dismissing calls to step down, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was sworn in Monday for a second term, following an election in which an alliance of three opposition parties increased their parliamentary representation from 21 to 82 seats. The ruling National Front, a 14-party coalition led by Badawi's United Malays National Organization (UMNO), lost 58 seats in the 222-member parliament, losing the two-thirds majority it has enjoyed since 1969. In parallel state elections, the National Front lost control of four states, and will now govern only eight out of a total of 13. The biggest single winner was the Keadilan (Justice) party of Anwar Ibrahim, which increased its number of national parliament seats from one to 31.
Anwar, a former deputy prime minister, became Malaysia's most prominent prisoner until a federal court in 2004 quashed a sodomy conviction that was widely viewed as politically motivated. He called the election outcome "a defining moment, unprecedented in our nation's history."
Two allied opposition parties also made big gains. The Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) gained 16 seats to take a total of 28 seats, and the Islamist party PAS also picked up 16 seats, for a total of 23 (PAS' strong showing came after a campaign in which it set aside an earlier agenda on imposing shari'a, focusing instead on economic issues.)
UMNO, long seen as the natural home of Muslim Malays who make up 60 percent of the population, has held power in conjunction with coalition partners since independence in 1957. All five Malaysian prime ministers have risen from its ranks.
While some Malay voters, aggrieved by price rises and rising crime, abandoned traditional loyalties, it was minority voters, including Christians, Hindus and Buddhists, who sent the clearest message of discontent to the government.
The UMNO-led coalition does include parties representing the minority communities, but those parties saw their parliamentary representation slashed, as many Chinese and Indians shifted their support to the opposition.
Malaysia is generally described as a moderate Muslim country. Its constitution guarantees religious freedom, but also stipulates that Islam is the official religion, and policies deemed as favoring Muslims have angered minorities. Late last year, police used batons and teargas to disperse Hindus protesting the destruction of temples, and detained Hindu leaders.
Christians were also unhappy about some controversial court rulings, including one last year that prohibited a convert to Christianity from removing the word "Islam" from her government-issued identity card. The federal court told Lina Joy that only a shari'a court was empowered to decide the issue, despite her protestations that as a Christian she should not be bound by Islamic law. Under shari'a, Muslims are not allowed to convert.
Recent opinion polls found that ethnic inequality was among the top concerns for a majority of citizens, significantly more important than issues like corruption and unemployment.
Among those calling for Badawi to resign as a result of the outcome of Saturday's election was his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, who dominated political life in Malaysia for 22 years before resigning in 2003.
Mahathir charged that Badawi should accept total responsibility for the election result. The 82-year-old former leader said he had clearly made a mistake when he handpicked the current prime minister to succeed him. But Badawi said he would not stand down, telling reporters he felt "no pressure."
Dr Shad Faruqi, professor of law at Malaysia's Universiti Teknologi, said the election "may well be remembered as Malaysia's rite of passage to democracy," noting that despite the upheaval there was no election-related violence, electoral authorities acquitted themselves well, and police acted even-handedly.
Faruqi said the result would likely lead to an unprecedented assertiveness from parliament vis-a-vis the executive, while the existence of more opposition-controlled states would also provide a more federal feel to a country that has operated largely as a unitary state.
Malaysia, the United States' 10th largest trading partner, plays a prominent role in international forums, especially in the Islamic and developing country blocs. Bilateral relations improved considerably after Badawi succeeded Mahathir, a frequent and acerbic critic of the West.
The U.S. and Malaysia launched negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement in June 2006.
See Also:
Islamist Party Downplays Shari'a Ahead of Malaysia Election (Feb. 26, 2008)
God Vs. Allah Issue Threatens Catholic Newspaper in Muslim Country (Dec. 26, 2007)
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