Malaysia: Supplemental elections place government popularity at stake

Samer Allawi - Kuala Lumpur

The outcome of the two-party elections in Malaysia, the ruling coalition, was surprised by the victory of the opposition candidates, especially following statements by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, in which the parties of the United Malays National Organization (AMNO) Election campaign for his party's candidate in the Seminé district.

The publicity campaign for opposition candidates in Cameron, Bhang and Simeinh, Salangur, is the former Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razzaq, who is accused of dozens of corruption cases.

It was clear that the ethnic selection of the supplementary elections, as the propaganda speech targeted the Muslim Malaysians who make up the majority of the population, and the result is identical to the ethnic selection, where the Muslims elected the candidate of the opposition and elected other government candidate, may be the reason for some view the dominance of non-Muslims on the parliamentary bloc of the ruling coalition.

Reasons to win
Lim Keit Siang, the spiritual leader of the Democratic Action Party, one of the pillars of Malaysia's ruling coalition, presented three reasons for the election of a government candidate in the June 2 elections.

First, the response to racist calls by leaders of the former ruling "Amno" party when they criticized the appointment of a non-Muslim and non-Malayan to the post of attorney general, and then cut off the former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razzaq, who is struggling to return to political work. To emphasize the support of the ruling "Alliance of Hope" program by establishing a "New Malaysia" and a transformation from a corrupt state into a law-abiding and law-abiding state of the world.

On the other hand, the newspaper "Malai Mel" published an analysis after the elections, which listed three reasons to justify the victory of the opposition candidate, namely: the lifting of the Alliance and the Islamic Party (Bas) Brigade of the defense of the Malay and Islam, and the failure of the Alliance of hope to fulfill the promises made in the same General elections, and the weakness of the government candidate in exchange for the opposition candidate known for his humanitarian and religious activities.

Although the supplementary elections were a limited battle, they appeared to be of great importance to both the government and the opposition. The hope was to reassert public confidence in his government, about ten months after the general election, and he threw all his strength to support his candidate.

It was based on the card of services and infrastructure construction, such as the declaration of the Minister of Health on the construction of a hospital in the department, and addressing the Prime Minister electorate by saying that it is futile to vote for the election of an opposition member of parliament, because the government has the decision to provide facilities and services.

This is in addition to the ongoing campaign against the opposition by charging them with corruption scandals and involving the Islamic Party with "Amenu" in these charges.

Party differences
The opposition is working hard to regain the lead, taking advantage of occasional disagreements between ruling coalition parties and the government's failure to live up to its promises. This is evident among voters who are looking for promises to abolish road taxes, lower prices, cancel graduate debt and free university education And others.

Voters did not find sufficient answers to their questions about the promises made in the May election platform, which included 60 pledges, as it was no longer popular to blame the corruption of the previous government and inherit a bankrupt budget.

Analysts say that the government's recent corruption charges against the Islamic Party with "Amno" were counterproductive and made the Malays feel that the goal of the campaign was Islam and the Malay race. Instead of dispersing the party bases, the followers of the Islamic Party joined their " And sweat.

The "Amnu" and "Bass" rules have also increased the number of incidents that have offended Islam and Malaysians, such as cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, the placing of Hindu idols in a mosque, and the killing of a Malaysian firefighter by those described as "Indian racists."

The final election was held in a district where Muslims constitute a majority (68%). The ruling coalition won the general election by 9,000 votes, but lost in the supplementary elections - due to the death of its representative in parliament - by nearly 2,000 votes.

A message to the government
In the results of the supplementary elections, many see a message to the Government in general and to the Unified Earthlings Party in particular, especially as the party led by Mahathir Mohammed, named Pripomé, represents Malays and their indigenous people.

In analyzing the results of last year's election, in which the National Front coalition lost, 75% of Malaysians voted for the parties "Amenu" and "Bass", meaning that the Alliance of Hope was unable to coax the Malays despite its control of the central government, Over the government of Salangor for more than a decade.

According to Sultan Idris, a professor of economics at the Sultan Idris University, Malaysians do not pay long-term promises when these promises are intertwined with what they practice daily, such as religious feelings, nationalism and the economy. And thus voters' choice.