Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
lashes back at his critics, who grow in number
 Almost a month after
Malaysia’s national election, the political battleground is
getting bloodier inside the Barisan Nasional, the national governing
coalition, particularly inside the United Malays National
Organisation, the leading ethnic party in the coalition.
After the unexpected
loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority and of five state
governments, UMNO is actually scrambling to survive, a stunning
development after 50 years of nearly unchallenged dominance of
Malaysian politics. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been
faced with a series of brushfire problems all over the place,
including the refusal by two state sultans to seat his choice for
menteri besar, or chief minister.
Probably the most
important thing keeping Badawi in place is the relative weakness of
his challengers, which may well keep him where he is until at least
party elections in August or September. The contender getting most of
the ink is Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, 70, the onetime finance minister
and perennial challenger to former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
The party’s other most prominent possible challenger, Deputy
Prime Minister and Defense Minister Najib Tun Abdul Razak, has agreed
to back Badawi, at least for now.
Nonetheless, sensing
Badawi’s vulnerability, his enemies within the party are going
after him. Usually subservient party lieutenants are speaking up.
Some have begun blogging after a survey showed that the Internet
influenced about 80 percent of voters aged 20 to 40. More and more
often the phrase “listen to the people/grassroots/voters”
is being bandied.
At a meeting with what
were described as the “grassroots” of UMNO in Kuala
Lumpur Sunday, Badawi lashed out at members of his own party,
particularly former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the
septuagenarian former prime minister, who has publicly called for his
resignation and whose criticism and refusal to take part in the
electoral process in February and March are considered to have been
factors in the magnitude of the electoral loss.
Badawi pointed out
Mahathir's role in the draconian arrests of political dissidents in
1987 using the Internal Security Act, which allows for detention
without trial, and Malaysia’s scandal-ridden judiciary. In
1988, after the Supreme Court outlawed UMNO following a power
struggle in the party over the presidency, Salleh Abbas, the then
Lord President, was sacked by a tribunal consisting of judges loyal
to Mahathir. That act wiped out the independence of Malaysia’s
courts and has led to a long deterioration in the quality of the
judicial institution.
Badawi also went
after Razaleigh, who has called for an emergency general meeting of
the party and who is expected to challenge Badawi for the
premiership, for his previous alliance with the Islamic Party of
Malaysia (PAS), charging that that Razaleigh was "the reason
Barisan lost Kelantan to PAS in the first place. The Kelantan leader,
who rejoined UMNO, has done nothing to win back the state for
Barisan."
Razaleigh in a speech
last Saturday called for a “revival of Malay power,”
criticizing the influence of foreigners – read ethnic Chinese
and Indians – in the country.
Despite the fact that
Razaleigh had been a perennial challenger to Mahathir, the two now
appear to be getting ready to make common cause against Badawi.
Although he has not openly backed Razaleigh’s challenge,
Mahathir seems to be saying that he doesn’t mind that it goes
forward. Mahathir’s youngest son, Mukhriz, who was elected to
parliament as an UMNO member by a wide margin on March 9, has written
a letter demanding that Badawi step down. He wasn’t punished
for his disobedience, another indication of Badawi’s loss of
power in his own party
In the grassroots
meeting, Badawi went on to blame sabotage by UMNO members for the
loss of two states. "The act of sabotage has already taken
place. If not for it, we would not have lost the two-thirds majority
and two state governments. We would not have lost Perak and Kedah if
not for the act by our own party members," he said.
As yet another an
indication of Badawi’s relative lack of power, his first major
attempt at judicial reform was rejected outright when Zaid Ibrahim,
whom Badawi appointed a minister in his cabinet, vainly proposed to
apologize to Salleh and other judges sacked along with him. However,
the second and third-highest UMNO figures, Deputy Prime Minister
Najib Tun Razak and International Trade and Industry Minister
Muhyiddin Yassin, both refused to go along with the proposal and it
was shelved.
Allegiances have become
more fluid within the party, with concern rising that as many as 30
newly elected members of the Dewan Rakyat, or Parliament, might jump
ship and go to the opposition. Although party members have remained
relatively static in peninsular Malaysia, they have often changed
affiliation in Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia for the promise of
cabinet positions or other perks.
Previously seen as a
Mahathir man, Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the deputy prime minister and
defense minister, has pledged his loyalty to Badawi. Senior
political observers say that Najib’s decision not to seek to
oust Badawi may be due to his own overflowing closet of skeletons.
His closest friend, Abdul Razak Baginda, and two of his bodyguards
are being tried for the gruesome murder of a Mongolian translator who
shot in the end and then blown up with military-grade explosives. He
has also been criticized widely for a series of questionable
purchases by the Malaysian military as he is also defense minister.
Perhaps in desperate
times, desperate measures are needed. But in Malaysia, desperate
politicians resurface. This is at least the third time that Razaleigh
has sought to contest the party presidency. In 1987, thwarted by
Mahathir, Razaleigh led a faction out of UMNO but eventually he
returned. In 2004, he wanted go after Badawi but only received one
nomination – from his own division. In line with the “quota
system” introduced by Mahathir, Razaleigh needs 30 percent of
the total nominations from 193 divisions or roughly 60 nominations.
Mahathir now is asking for the system to be abolished in the name of
democracy.
Razaleigh was Finance
Minister in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was also a former
chairman of the scandal-scarred Bank Bumiputra. Among Malaysians, he
is remembered for setting up Petronas, the national oil and gas
company, and other Malay nationalistic achievements like seizing
ownership and control of British companies. Till today, the “dawn
raid” of Guthrie, a British plantation giant, in 1971 is still
recalled warmly by ethnic Malays. Yet, little mentioned is the
heartless implementation of Malay cultural supremacy and hegemony
over this period that marginalized many non-Malays.
These are still early
days as the party election is in December. At the moment, the
anti-Badawi camp is banking on Razaleigh as the viable alternative
but they are still looking for a running mate to contest the deputy
presidency. Meanwhile, other contenders may pop up when things calm
down a bit.
That’s not likely
to happen anytime soon as Anwar, who was barred from politics after
being convicted on what were widely regarded as trumped-up charges of
sexual deviation and corruption, will be eligible to stand in a
by-election on April 14. At that point, one of the winning candidates
from Parti Keadilan Rakyat, the People’s Justice Party
–possibly Anwar’s wife – will stand down from
politics to allow Anwar to run. As head of the unlikely three-party
coalition of Keadilan, which is dominated by urban Malays, the
largely socialist and Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party and
PAS, the fundamentalist Islamic Party, Anwar will be in parliament
with the renewed power to make trouble for the ruling coalition.
Comment:
PRU12 Is Not Over Yet ?
I am in a serious state of confusion today. Reading Asia Sentinel and
ironically mainstream papers makes me feel as if there will be a gigantic
national election coming soon. Probably, these are the campaigning days "prior
to the election".
Wait a minute. The national election (Pilihanraya Umum
12) or synonymously named in its abbreviated form PRU12 was held exactly one
month ago. Today is 8th April and it was on 8th March 2008.
It is not
exactly the fault or any form of mis-reporting on the part of presses and
publications that caused such confusion. Generally, the local news segments are
full with articles emanating vibes of election. Finger-pointing , dissing out
personalities , amassing supporters to organise gatherings , little street
demonstrations , alleged saboteurs and megaphone diplomacy made it. The media is
merely reporting what is happening in reality.
As a concerned citizen, I
was really looking forward to reading development plans for Malaysia 4 to 5
years down to road. With the onset of a serious economic crisis in the United
States, I think it is really time for the chosen government to actually
formulate strategies to safeguard the local interests. Any form of inflation
will affect the citizens by-and-large. These should be the priority instead.
Regretably, "election-style" politicking seems to overtake these
issues.
I hope there are people from Barisan Nasional component parties
that will read this page and do something useful to the nation. Yes, BN lost its
two-third majority and five states in PRU12 for the very first time in the 50
years of Malaysia. Yes, it is BN's worst defeat to date. Yes, it is alarming but
it should be known that BN still has the simple majority. BN is still the
federal government.
The internal bickering is not doing any good to the
image and structure of the ruling coalition. Being denied two-third is not the
end of the world. However, it will be the end of the world for everyone in
Malaysia, be it commoners like me, opposing parties and BN if the economy
crumbles in the midst of all these continual sensational drama. Believe me,
PRU12 is nothing compared to the economic problems potentially reaching our
shores as a side effect of the globalised economy centering on USA.
If
one thinks PRU12 shook BN hard, imagine the damage an economic crisis may do to
the foundations of a coalition. Think long and hard from the "confidence"
perspective of a common Malaysian towards a political party. Would one choose to
bicker first, cushion the effects later or the opposite?
As for me, I
would choose the latter. If the economy is sustained, at least it will generate
a certain amount of positive vibes in "confidence".
On the other hand,
internal dispute is not only the problem of Barisan Nasional. Pakatan Rakyat has
its share of megaphone diplomacy. Did anyone read about the latest DAP-PAS
fiasco on an old issue of Islamic state versus Secular state? It is not really
wise to hang dirty linens in public. It is high time to sit down , iron out the
issue once and for all, prepare a detailed blueprint on "How to govern Malaysia
: Muslims and Non-Muslims".
The PR political parties should not avoid
this issue any longer. Even as I speak, the supporters of both parties have
started less than pleasant comments that may put the collaboration at risk. As a
Malaysian, it is my dream to see them work together as one. It should be tighter
and more synchronised than the cooperation that was witnessed in PRU12. PKR must
be in the picture as well.
Pakatan Rakyat has to know that it came into
being with the support of Malaysians particularly through the Barisan Rakyat
civil movement iniative. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that should be
appreciated. Time to ride on the wind rather than let it pass through without
capitalising properly on the given chance.
By Sagaladoola
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