MUST READ: MALAYSIA'S ELECTIONS - POLITICAL TSUNAMI OR NEW WAVE?!?

Malaysia’s Elections – Political Tsunami or New Wave?
by Adrian Morgan

On Friday, January 25 this year, Malaysia's prime minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, suggested that he would bring forward the date for national elections. His coalition parliament was not officially obligated to hold general elections until the middle of next year.

He said: "We will call for the election when I think everything is all right and at the moment I think people are ready for the election." He soon set the date for elections for Saturday March 8, 2008.

The elections took place at the weekend, but though the coalition led by Badawi's UMNO party obtained a majority, the results have nonetheless been viewed as disastrous. This coalition, called the Barisan Nasional, comprises 14 parties. UMNO (United National Malays Organization) is the largest party. The coalition has ensured that UMNO has led the country since Malaysia's independence on August 31, 1957.

At the last elections on March 21, 2004, the Barisan Nasional won 196 of the 219 parliamentary seats. Badawi knew that the coalition would not be so successful this time. Two of the Barisan Nasional parties are ethnic - the MIC, or Malaysia Indian Congress and the MCA, or Malaysian Chinese Association. Since 1996, the MCA has been the second largest party in the coalition. Despite having these partners, UMNO has promoted policies which favor Malays over Indians and Chinese in housing, jobs, and government contracts. Recently Indians have felt particularly alienated by UMNO policies, and as Indians comprise only 8% of the electorate, it seems Badawi assumed he did not need Indian support.

The results from Saturday's elections - the 12th since independence - have caused shock within Malaysia. With 222 parliamentary seats being contested this year, the Barisan Nasional won only 140 seats (63 percent of the total). UMNO itself has only 78 seats in the parliament. This was the worst election for the coalition and for UMNO since independence.

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1) Malaysia’s Elections – Political Tsunami or New Wave?