Malaysia General Election preview

 

 From left to right: Chattering, Nervous, Desperate

One week down, one more week to go. That is the current state of the election campaign in Malaysia. Next Sunday, Malaysians will go to the polls to pick their country's rulers and decide what its future will turn out to be in the next five years. Though a Singaporean, I believe that Malaysia's 13th general election is worth following. Simply because it has political entertainment.

There are numerous "clash of the titans" battles around the nation where party heavyweights from the ruling Barisan Nasional and opposition Pakatan Rakyat face each other for a parliamentary seat. Singapore didn't really had many titanic battles in GE2011 due to the GRCs, which resulted in only a few 1-on-1 duels.

Some of the more prominent fights include Gelang Patah in Johor where BN's outgoing Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman takes on opposition veteran Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party, Shah Alam in Selangor which sees BN's Zulkifli Noordin against Parti Islan SeMalaysia's Khalid Samad and Keningau in Sabah that has two (real) brothers facing each other.

In the case of Shah Alam, it is said to be fight between the hardliner and the moderate. The former, from BN, is known for his extremist comments on Hindus, while Mr. Moderate is a Catholic church visitor of the PAS. When we put white and black together, what will be get? Erm, grey?

Over at East Malaysia, two brothers, Joseph Pairin Kitingan of BN and Jeffrey Kitingan of the independent State Reform Party, are up against each other again. Joseph is the elder and the incumbent defending his seat.

Five years ago, Jeffrey lost to his brother when he was still with Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Five years later, what will the result be? I thought Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jerome Boateng, both professional footballers, were probably the only brothers in the world who would be on different sides. I guess you and I were both wrong.

Alright, then there is Gelang Patah which I reckon would be biggest fight in this election. Gelang Patah is only a little more than 10 kilometres away from my camp and I can travel there by car in less than an hour via the Second Link Expressway.

Useless info aside, the face-off between Ghani and Lim here is a essentially a clash of old and new (although both are old enough to be grandfathers). Ghani has been defending Johor, the Umno fortress, from the opposition for some 18 years and is name and face are familiar to voters there.

On the other hand, Lim is new to Johor after deciding to leave Perak where his Ipoh Timur seat of nine years was to spread the "political wave" from the north to south of Peninsular Malaysia. Is it worth the gamble when the opposition's de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim opted to stay and defend his Permatang Pauh seat in Penang?

Another factor which makes the general election interesting is who will be the next prime minister of Malaysia. If the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, continues to rule the country, it is understood that Najib Razak, the head of the coalition's biggest party, Umno, will be premier. Really?

If BN were to receive less than two-thirds of the vote, like what happened during the reign of Abdullah Badawi in 2008, Najib may face a similar fate like his predecessor. Abdullah stepped down as Umno president and prime minister in June 2009, a year after the watershed election. Najib, who was Abdullah's deputy then, was subsequently sworn in as the 6th prime minister.

So, if BN were to receive a barrage of hard knocks while barely clinging onto power, will Najib's place still be untouchable? Or will his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, launch an attack to bring him down within Umno? That sounds a bit unbelievable but Najib is, after all, an untested leader. And falling at his first hurdle would only make Mahathir and the rest of BN pissed off.

What if Pakatan Rakyat wins and end the BN's long-time rule of Malaysia? Most people would agree that Anwar will assume the position of prime minister. The centre-left DAP has ruled all its members out. That means the head of government will still be a Malay after all. What about the Islamist party PAS then?

Its spiritual advisor, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, at an age of 82, is certainly too old for that. That leaves us with Abdul Hadi Awang, president of the party. That's where the problem lies. Hadi, the MP for Marang in Terengganu, had not completely ruled himself out.

The three members of Pakatan Rakyat have also chose not to comment on who will be prime minister, which only increases the suspicion that Anwar is still not confirmed as first-choice until today. If Anwar, with the backing of DAP, goes on to assume office, will he create a split within the coalition?

Whatever the outcome of the election, it is for the better of Malaysia (and maybe Singapore if markets don't crash too much if BN loses big). Malaysians should use their vote wisely. They should ask themselves what are they most concerned with? Political corruption, economic issues or social reforms?

Vote whatever you think is right. I am not a Malaysia citizen but as an observer from its closest neighbour, I would say go for Anwar and co. because they seem to say more "right" stuff.