Political gap narrows in Malaysia

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On May 8, 2013

In his political climb, Mukhriz, deputy minister of international trade and industry in the previous government, could soon bump up against a rising star within the PR, Nurul Izzah

Anil Netto

PENANG – Malaysia’s general elections returned the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition to power with a weak mandate and the potential for political instability in the weeks ahead. The opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition led by Anwar Ibrahim has questioned the integrity of Sunday’s result and has refused to concede defeat until investigations are conducted into numerous reported irregularities.

On polling day, social media was abuzz with alerts, photographs and videos that showed the indelible ink used to prevent voters from casting more than one ballot was easily washed away. Other reports indicated that busloads of people believed to be nationals of other countries had cast votes. There were also widespread allegations of vote-buying.

Bersih, a civil society coalition campaigning for electoral reforms, withheld its recognition of the polls and has not yet indicated whether it would protest the result. The activist coalition has held three mass rallies, including a demonstration in April that drew by some estimates 200,000 people, against an electoral system it believes is rigged in BN’s and its main component United Malay Nasional Organization (UMNO) party’s favor. Anwar on Tuesday urged opposition supporters to protest the result.

There could be significant grass roots support for a follow-up rally. A petition on the website change.org appealing to the United Nations to investigate electoral fraud allegations had gone viral online with more than 200,000 signatures as of Tuesday. So far Anwar has called on PR supporters to remain calm while investigations are ongoing.

On Monday, Najib Razak called for the opposition to accept the result while being sworn in as prime minister. According to official results, the BN won 133 of parliament’s 222 seats, down from the 140 it notched at the 2008 polls and below its coveted two-thirds majority. PR increased its parliamentary representation from 82 to 89, according to the results.

In a significant turn, PR won over half of the popular vote, with the BN lagging about three to four percentage points behind. According to the official results, PR polled 5.6 million votes to the BN’s 5.2 million. The discrepancy between the share of popular votes and actual parliamentary seats won – PR won only 40% of parliament’s seats – owes to periodic gerrymandering orchestrated by the BN to favor its candidates in rural areas.

Notwithstanding possible rallies against the result, Najib’s political future now hangs in the balance. He was appointed prime minister in 2009 following former premier Abdullah Badawi’s relatively poor electoral showing at the 2008 elections. The danger for Najib is that, like Abdullah, he could be removed from UMNO’s presidency – which traditionally brings with it the premiership – after an even worse electoral performance.

UMNO party elections are due to be held later this year. For its part, UMNO won 88 of the 119 seats it contested for a win-rate of 74%. However, all five of Najib’s personal aides who contested a seat lost. During his victory speech on Sunday night, Najib and BN aides around him were visibly glum despite their win in what was a grueling electoral battle.

UMNO now holds two-thirds of BN’s 133 seats, further consolidating its domination over the ruling coalition. Affiliated parties from the North Borneo states of Sabah and Sarawak are now the largest junior partners. Other ethnic-based parties such as the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), once major players in the BN’s forerunner, the Alliance, have become bit players, reflecting the shrinking demographics of their traditional supporters. Many MCA and MIC supporters defected to PR ahead of the polls.

There is political irony in the fact that it was Najib’s father, former prime minister Abdul Razak, who broadened the diversity of the former Alliance from an UMNO-MCA-MIC coalition to a wider BN coalition that included other smaller parties following a poor electoral showing in 1969. It remains to be seen if Najib will now try similarly to enlarge the BN by luring PR-affiliated parties, whether directly or through a pact, into its fold.

Within PR, the multi-ethnic but largely Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) recorded the biggest gains in parliament, raising its tally from 28 seats in 2008 to 38 this time. Anwar’s People’s Justice Party (PKR) largely held its ground with 30, while the Islamic party PAS slipped slightly to 21 seats. Najib, typical of his party’s race-based perspective, labeled the opposition’s gains as a “Chinese-tsunami”.