Chang slow in coming one year after historic Malaysian vote

By Julia Yeow, dpa

Kuala Lumpur (dpa) - A year after Malaysia‘s political landscape
experienced a dramatic shake-up with a historic election, the
people‘s soaring hopes seem to have coalesced into discontentment as
anticipated change appears too slow in coming.

On March 8, 2008, Malaysia‘s three-party opposition alliance
captured the hopes and imaginations of government critics when it
swept up control of five of the country‘s 13 states and denied the
ruling coalition a two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first
time.

The election results came as a shock to the country, which has
only known the governance of the formidable National Front coalition.

With the opposition‘s strong showing came promises of change, from
a clampdown on widespread corruption to a fairer distribution of
wealth among Malaysia‘s 25 million people.

"Last year‘s elections gave Malaysians hope that there can be a
change from the decadent politics that defined the ruling government
for so long," said Lim Kit Siang, veteran leader of the opposition
Democratic Action Party.

The comfortable victory in the five states - central Selangor;
northern Penang, Kedah and Perak; and eastern Kelantan - was a slap
in the face of the National Front and a voter mandate for changes
promised by the opposition.

However, one year later, hopes have turned to resentment as
leaders from both sides appeared more concerned with sex scandals,
tit-for-tat bickering and power grabbing than addressing a real and
immediate problem: an almost-certain economic recession.

The opposition People‘s Alliance, led by charismatic former deputy
prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, has been plagued by defecting members,
internal squabbles and embarrassing scandals involving its lawmakers.

"The opposition has not been seen to do anything significant in
terms of policies," said Denison Jayasooria, a political analyst with
the National University of Malaysia in Bangi, Selangor.

While the opposition lawmakers, almost all of whom are first-time
elected representatives, appeared so far to be "ferocious in standing
up" against government policies, their focus seems to have blurred,
Jayasooria said.

"They are no longer just opposition activists," he said. "They are
elected representatives of the people, to serve the people."

At a recent meeting of party leaders, Anwar himself acknowledged
the challenges faced by the opposition.

"On this eve of the anniversary of our March 8 victory, I ask you
to reflect on whether you have worked hard to fulfill this promise of
bringing change," Anwar said while maintaining that a lack of
funding, support and the government‘s unwillingness to cooperate are
the main reasons for the lack of progress.

"In each of the opposition-ruled states, legislators have been
facing a gargantuan task of sifting through decades of deep-rooted
and corrupt practices," said a senior opposition leader who declined
to be named.

"It takes time to undo what has taken decades to put in place," he
said.

The opposition has also been unable to avoid internal
controversies with four lawmakers defecting or resigning while
another prominent legislator was forced to step down after a nude
photo scandal.

But the biggest blow to the alliance has been the loss of the
state of Perak in a recent controversial takeover orchestrated by
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The takeover, which came after three opposition lawmakers
defected, has led to a messy and yet-to-be-resolved political drama
in the state, stemming from claims by both sides that they have the
right to rule.

But while the political leaders are going heads-on in their fight
to regain power, Malaysians are beginning to bear the brunt of the
ailing economy and rising unemployment.

The country‘s economy grew a dismal 0.1 per cent in the fourth
quarter, bringing full-year growth to 4.6 per cent, falling short of
the official target of 5 per cent.

Economists have predicted a retraction of 1.19 per cent for the
first quarter of the year and warned that the country was headed
toward a recession.

"We are unhappy because the government is not spending time to
tackle these issues but are bickering politically," said Andrew Lim,
a stock analyst. "It‘s making a mockery of the nation and the real
problems we are facing."

Jayasooria also slammed the ruling government for its
"small-mindedness" and urged leaders from both sides of the political
divide to come to an understanding and "grow up."

"Today‘s political leadership is weak, and the average Malaysian
is going to suffer," Jayasooria said.

"All the scandals, bickering, without addressing the substantive
issues of the day is really tragic," he said.

Jayasooria said that unless the government and opposition pull
together and put aside their political agendas, they were doing a
grave injustice to the voters who placed their hopes in them.

"What we thought was a new dawn of politics," he said, "has
instead become a sunset experience."

(Deutsche Presse-Agentur, March 7, 2009)