Anwar Ibrahim addresses a protest rally. GOH CHAI HIN/AFP/Getty Images
As P.M. Najib Razak’s cabinet unveil Wednesday shows, his Barisan Nasional coalition’s success in the Malaysian elections this month was anything but decisive. Najib’s cabinet picks play towards the right wing of his base, an effort to undo the damage caused by his election squeaker. More than a week after which, it should be noted, unauthorized protests continue, with the police seemingly uneasy about cracking down too hard. (In the days immediately after the election there were spontaneous protests in Kuala Lumpur as well as planned events that the police banned, only to relent and allow to proceed.) The opposition alliance Pakatan Rakyat, fronted by reformer Anwar Ibrahim, is unanimous that democracy in Malaysia is not working but divided about how to proceed.
This is not surprising. Najib’s Barisan coalition, which has led Malaysia since 1957, was returned to power with a thin majority. Through gerrymandered voting districts, BN took 60 per cent of the seats in parliament with only 47 per cent of the vote against the opposition coalition’s 50 per cent. The outcome has galvanized urban Malay voters and marginalized ethnic Chinese and Indian Malaysians, who were motivated by a desire for change in Malaysia’s society and economy. The opposition had been further emboldened by a sizable youth turn out as well as the support of Malaysians living abroad. And activists are now seeking larger street demonstrations to pressure BN. But Ibrahim has hinted that future protests won’t be against Najib or BN as much as against the broader injustices built into an electoral system that sits atop a highly uneven social system. This reflects the fact that Ibrahim received little international support in the latest election.
Both the opposition protest movement and the government have a fine line to walk here: the elections, even if seen as unfair, have not been proven to be illegal. True, Ibrahim’s Pakatan Party has identified 27 parliamentary seats for electoral scrutiny, following allegations BN voters were flown into Kuala Lumpur to shore up support there. But until there is a smoking gun, and the opposition has laid out its case in full, there is no clear path forward. And candidates have 21 days after election results are certified to make court challenges, so the clock is ticking.
The Election Commission itself is a protagonist of sorts in this struggle. The EC, indignant at the accusation of a spoiled election, is mulling defamation charges against Ibrahim and Democratic Action Party MP Lim Kit Siang based on their statements about the election. Ibrahim, once the deputy premier under firebrand PM Mahathir Mohamad before being brought down in 1998, has long memories of being jailed on sodomy charges in a move widely seen a politically motivated.
For the ruling BN there is a risk of this continued discord crippling its electoral mandate, such as it is. Whoever rules Malaysia must push through economic reform for which public support, or at least acceptance, is needed. Too much tension on the streets won’t help the cause. And after chalking up the worst election showing in its history for the coalition, Najib’s leadership of his own party — the United Malays National Organization — may be more difficult. Najib also recognizes further changes are needed to spread the nation’s wealth more evenly while making politics “more responsive.” Whether he follows through is another story. Since the election, even Mahathir said his party should ask itself “why we are not as strong as before and why there’s no support from certain groups.”
All that is certain, however, is that the momentum for change is in the air. The question is: how? Court challenges and civil-society campaigning? A rowdier and more direct effort? The historic election that had promised so much change has left many Malaysians in doubt of the next step.
