The victory of Malaysia's ruling coalition in the parliamentary elections, despite losing the popular vote, has not only exposed the entrenched racial divide in the country but also a new schism— between the rural poor who preferred the status quo and the urban middle-class who wanted change.
In a knife-edge election, the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) led by Najib Razak won 133 seats in the 222-member Parliament — down a fraction from the 135 it held before the elections. On the face of it, the National Front appears to have done well. But, the fact remains that the long-governing coalition won with a weakened majority to extend its unbroken rule, fending off the strongest opposition it has ever faced but exposing vulnerabilities in the process. The National Front's aura of invincibility has been under threat since three of Malaysia's main opposition parties combined forces five years ago. In recent years the National Front has been increasingly accused of complacency and heavy-handed rule.
Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim Pakatan Rakyat’s three-party alliance seized the remaining 89 seats. It even edged the National Front in the popular vote by more than 200,000 of at least 10.5 million ballots cast, according to several initial independent estimates.Opposition activists have long complained of gerrymandering. It was the National Front's 13th consecutive victory in general elections since independence from Britain in 1957. It faced its most unified challenge ever from an opposition that hoped to capitalize on allegations of arrogance, abuse of public funds and racial discrimination against the government. The much anticipated increase in support by Indian voters appeared to have been muted with the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) winning four parliamentary seats, the same number which it held at the time of going to the polls.
The ruling coalition is dominated by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) led by Najib and also includes Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) besides the MIC. The ethnic Indian minority community in Malaysia played a major role in the victory of the ruling coalition.
According to political analysts, the National Front would not have won in several areas if the ethnic Indians had not voted for the coalition comprising candidates from the Malaysian Indian Congress, which is the country's largest Indian based political party. Malaysia has a population of 29 million people which includes 60 per cent Malays who are all Muslims, 25 per cent ethnic Chinese who are mostly Christians and Buddhists and eight per cent ethnic Indians who are mostly Hindus. The ethnic Indian community had backed the opposition alliance in the last general elections leading to the National Front losing its usual 3/4th majority. This time too the ruling coalition has won a simple majority.
Najib, who won his parliamentary seat from Pekan, was under pressure to improve on the coalition's worst-ever result, recorded at the last election in 2008 when it won 140 seats and lost its customary two-thirds parliamentary majority.
After the results were out, Najib vowed that his government will embark on a national reconciliation process to heal the racial and political divisions after the election. "We will be looking forward to reject political and racial extremism, and work towards a more moderate and accommodating environment," he said after the Election Commission confirmed the victory of the ruling National Front. Najib (59), who was sworn in as Prime Minister by Malaysia's king on May 6, urged all Malaysians to accept his coalition's victory. "We have to show to the world that we are a mature democracy," he said.
"Despite the extent of the swing against us, (the National Front) did not fall," he said in a nationally televised news conference. "I hope for the sake of the country that all sides especially the Opposition will accept this decision with an open heart and allow the democratic process to proceed smoothly. The will of the people must be respected,” he said. But, Anwar, on the other hand, signalled that the opposition might dispute the results, saying "irregularities" cost his alliance numerous seats with narrow margins. Within minutes of the National Front's declaration of victory, thousands of Malaysian opposition supporters replaced their Facebook profile photos with black boxes in a co-ordinated sign of dismay.
Anwar and his daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar of opposition PKR party were among the winners. The opposition also retained economically important Penang state.
The National Front was at its peak in 2004, when it won 90 per cent of Parliament's seats. Its hopes were dashed of regaining the two-thirds legislative majority that it held for years but lost in 2008. Four Cabinet ministers and two state chief ministers also lost their parliamentary seats. The Malaysian Chinese Association, the second-biggest party in the ruling coalition, saw many of its candidates defeated as Malaysia's ethnic Chinese minority community continued to abandon the National Front.
Although the National Front regained control of one opposition-governed state, Anwar's alliance retained three, including two of Malaysia's wealthiest, most urbanised ones. Among the major differences between the National Front and Anwar's alliance are coalition affirmative-action policies that benefit the majority but not the poor Malay population. Malay leaders in the National Front say those policies are still needed to help poorer Malays, but opposition critics say they've been abused to benefit mainly well-connected Malays, and that all underprivileged Malaysians should get help regardless of race. The opposition alliance, which many had thought could edge out the ruling coalition, conceded defeat.
Analysts say that an opposition win would have represented a remarkable comeback for Anwar, a former deputy prime minister who was fired in 1998 and subsequently jailed on corruption and sodomy charges that he says were fabricated by his political enemies. He was released from jail in 2004. Anwar and other opposition leaders voiced suspicions about electoral fraud. Claims of bogus ballots and an apparent ease in which some voters cleaned the ink stains off their fingers dominated social media. Anwar questioned the fairness of the polls, insisting that there were documented cases of electoral fraud and demanded an investigation. In fact, the opposition’s options are limited aside from asserting political pressure for a commission to investigate. Opposition leaders said the National Front used migrants from Bangladesh, the Philippines and Indonesia to vote unlawfully. Government and electoral authorities denied the allegations, saying private donors had paid for legitimate voters to fly home.
On the economic front, experts say that with Najib’s win, Malaysia is “likely to see a potential surge in investment”. Fitch Ratings Ltd. Said it expects “greater clarity on the government’s fiscal and economic policy programme”. Malaysian shares reacted positively to news that the National Front had won. The currency strengthened 1.8 percent to 2.9793 per dollar as of 5:00 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur, the biggest one-day jump since June 2010. Idris Jala, Najib’s minister responsible for overseeing the country’s economic transformation program, said Malaysia’s pipeline of investment is “very healthy.” The country should have “very robust growth” following the election result, said another minister in the Prime Minister’s department in Najib’s Cabinet before the election. – PTI Feature
