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Abdullah at Risk as Malaysian Coalition Loses Ground
09-Mar-2008, Bloomberg.com
By Angus Whitley and Stephanie Phang
March 9 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's hold on power in Malaysia is in doubt after his ruling coalition lost ground to an opposition that wants to scrap legalized preferences for ethnic Malays, help the poor and battle corruption.
The coalition kept control of the government after Saturday's election, though it has yet to retain the two-thirds majority it has enjoyed in parliament for more than three decades -- a free hand that has helped Malays consolidate power. Opposition parties led by Islamists promising to fight poverty and graft, and ethnic Indians and Chinese opposed to pro-Malay discrimination, posted wins or gains in key states.
``You can't lead a coalition that loses this badly and stay in power,'' said Ooi Kee Beng, an analyst at Singapore's Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. ``He should resign. The coalition is in crisis because it can no longer claim it represents all the races.''
Preliminary results stunned Abdullah's United Malays National Organisation, which leads the ruling multiethnic coalition.
``We have done very badly across the board, not just in Kelantan,'' said Annuar Musa, UMNO's head in the northeastern state, which the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party won.
Kedah, Penang
Opposition parties also won the northwestern Kedah state, while the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party said it probably won Penang, Abdullah's home state. The opposition is also set to take control of the northern state of Perak, state news service Bernama said.
The National Front coalition has won seven of the country's nine remaining states, according to the only other official state results so far.
Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, 60, who has coordinated the opposition campaign, also claimed that it has denied Abdullah, 68, a two-thirds national parliamentary majority.
Barisan has won 112 of 222 parliamentary seats, with the opposition at 34, giving the government a simple majority, according to the latest data from the Election Commission.
Abdullah accepted defeat in some areas and called for calm, according to the Star newspaper. Malaysia's police chief Musa Hassan yesterday banned victory parades, saying that everyone should accept the results.
Affirmative-Action Policy
Malaysia's Indians and Chinese together are a third of the country's 27 million population. UMNO governs with junior Chinese and Indian partners, who have been criticized for accepting an affirmative-action policy that gives Malays educational, housing and job preferences.
Works Minister Samy Vellu, the top ethnic Indian leader in Malaysia's ruling coalition, lost his seat, as did Koh Tsu Koon, the head of one of the coalition's main Chinese-based parties.
``This is the biggest defeat for our party since our founding 40 years ago,'' Koh said late last night. His party Gerakan had been in the opposition when it first won control of Penang in 1969, the only election where the coalition lost its supermajority in the national parliament.
``The people have shown their lack of confidence in the Barisan Nasional in its present form and shape,'' said Tricia Yeoh, director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies, an independent research institute in Kuala Lumpur. ``It's a slap on their faces and a wake-up call.''
Opposition Cooperation
Anwar's multiethnic People's Justice Party co-operated with the DAP and PAS against the government, and has pledged to scrap the race-based policy as unjust and a drag on economic growth.
PAS, after suffering a setback in the 2004 election, dropped its goal of turning Malaysia into an Islamic state from this year's manifesto, promising free education, health services, low-cost housing, cheaper fuel and a minimum wage instead.
Anwar played a key role in moderating the pro-Islamic stance of PAS nationwide and rallying the opposition, said analysts including Ibrahim Suffian, director of the Merdeka Center, an independent Malaysian research group.
``The opposition parties have really gotten their act together in terms of strategizing and they have their icon of a leader in Anwar,'' said Maznah Mohamed, a senior fellow at the National University of Singapore.
To contact the reporter on this story: Angus Whitley in Kuala Lumpur at awhitley1@bloomberg.netStephanie Phang in Kuala Lumpur at sphang@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: March 8, 2008 13:17 EST
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