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Oil paintings of Malaysian ministers being sold in downtown Kuala Lumpur. (AP photo)
AP
First Published : 07 Mar 2009 10:11:33 AM IST
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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians called it a political tsunami when public discontent loosened the government's five-decade grip on power in elections a year ago. The period since has been likened to a circus.
The National Front coalition remains in power, and main opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim has had to back off claims that he would topple the government within months.
But normally predictable Malaysian politics is increasingly less so, as new cracks keep opening up in the ruling coalition.
The prime minister is being forced out by an open revolt in his own party. The National Front lost two special elections to fill parliamentary vacancies, an unimaginable result in the past. And the government's attempt to oust an opposition-led state government has wound up in deadlock, with both sides claiming to be in charge.
The unprecedented weakness of the National Front has emboldened Malaysians to demand more rights in a country accustomed to virtual one-party rule since independence in 1957.
In last year's March 8 election, the ruling coalition had its worst-ever showing, losing its longtime two-thirds majority in parliament and control of five of Malaysia's 13 states.
Malaysians realized for the first time that "there can be alternative governments ... that the power to shape opinions and decisions comes from them," said Tricia Yeoh, a political analyst who advises the opposition.
"This translates into a more demanding public, holding governments accountable to standards higher than they themselves would have imagined prior to March 8th, 2008," she said.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who was widely blamed for the setback, resisted resignation calls for months before agreeing in October to step down around March 31.
"We have been in power for so long that some people (in the party) take it for granted. We are telling our people times have changed," said International Trade and Industry Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, a vocal critic of Badawi. "It is a question of survival."
The public appears lukewarm toward his successor, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak. In a poll of 1,018 registered voters, 41 percent said he would do a good job, while 36 percent disagreed. The nationwide telephone survey by the Merdeka Center had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
Razaleigh Hamzah, a respected ruling party official, said Najib's ascent "will not magically set us on the path to restoration."
Najib spearheaded campaigns for the two special elections, but the ruling coalition lost both.
Much of the voter anger stems from the government's empty pledges to curb corruption and cronyism, especially in awarding public contracts.
The ruling coalition has also failed to resolve racial and religious grievances of ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities in this Malay-majority nation, including alleged police killings of Indian suspects.
Fears that Malaysia may tumble into its first recession since 1998 have increased disquiet. The economy grew just 0.1 percent in the final three months of 2008, and 22,000 people have lost their jobs since October.
The National Front's sole success was in wresting back control of the northern state of Perak, which it had lost in the March 2008 elections. But even that may have backfired.
It coaxed three lawmakers to leave the rival People's Alliance coalition, tipping the balance in the Perak legislature in its favor.
But instead of waiting for a vote by lawmakers, the National Front got the state's sultan to appoint a new chief minister from its coalition. The move was condemned as unconstitutional, and the People's Alliance and the national lawyers' association are demanding elections to end the deadlock. The National Front has refused.
