Euphoria ends, reality bites
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim boldly claimed he would topple the coalition that has run the country for five decades within months.
AFTER Malaysia’s opposition made unprecedented gains in elections last year, its leader boldly claimed he would topple the coalition that has run the country for five decades within months.
Today he faces sodomy charges, his People’s Alliance is riven by internal feuding and the long-ruling National Front has regained some of its footing. When the three-party opposition gathers for a convention this Saturday, one of its challenges will be to convince the public that the alliance is not falling apart.
‘It’s an uphill climb for the opposition. I think the reality is making itself felt,’ said Ooi Kee Beng, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore and a close follower of Malaysian politics. ‘We should have expected that the People’s Alliance could not take on the National Front and win that easily.’
The National Front has enjoyed uninterrupted rule since Malaysia gained independence in 1957. But voters dealt it a setback in March 2008 elections amid charges of corruption, nepotism and public sector inefficiency.
The opposition won more than one-third of the seats in Parliament for the first time and took control of five of Malaysia’s 13 states. Its success raised speculation that Malaysia’s democracy would evolve into a truly competitive one.
But a shaken National Front picked a new leader, Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has begun to address voter concerns, particularly on race issues, since taking over in April. Meanwhile, the opposition is increasingly plagued by infighting and ideological differences. — AP
