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Malaysian opposition pulls off election coup and Islamic Democracy

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  • Malaysian opposition pulls off election coup and Islamic Democracy

    Malaysian opposition pulls off election coup

    By South East Asia correspondent Karen Percy

    Posted Sun Mar 9, 2008 12:01pm AEDT
    Updated Sun Mar 9, 2008 12:27pm AEDT


    Opposition gains: People's Justice Party candidate Nurul Izzah (r) and her husband celebrate after she won a parliamentary seat in the capital (Reuters)

    Related Story: Malaysia's ruling coalition suffers upset Malaysia's opposition parties have pulled off a historic election performance, posing the first challenge to the ruling Government in five decades.

    At the last election Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi won 90 per cent of seats, but now he has lost a crucial two-thirds majority, which means he will need opposition cooperation to make constitutional changes.

    At last count, the opposition had a record 82 seats of the 222 seats in the national parliament - with several seats still to be determined.

    Mr Abdullah will stay in office, but for the first time since independence in 1957 there will be a sizeable opposition in Parliament.

    Mr Adbullah says he will accept the results and has appealed for calm, saying he will not resign.

    The opposition parties were brought together by former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who is currently banned from politics because of a corruption conviction.

    His eldest daughter Nurul Izza Anwar ousted a sitting minister in an inner-city seat in the capital, while his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail maintained her seat in Penang.

    Mr Anwar says the election results are a big success for the opposition and he has called this a defining moment in Malaysia's history.

    "It is reassuring because Malaysians want reform, democracy and a new economic agenda," he said.

    "Given the scenario that we have, [and] the limitations that we have, [like] no access to the media, this is phenomenal."

    Malaysian opposition pulls off election coup - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
    Trends in Malaysian Election

    http://www.iseas.edu.sg/trends120.pdf
    Penang Umno supporters demonstrate against NEP changes
    By : Sharanjit Singh, Audrey Dermawan and Adie Suri Zulkefli

    Email to friend Print article Share
    GEORGE TOWN, Fri:

    Shouts of `Hidup Melayu` rang around the landmark Komtar building here today as 1,000 Umno members gathered to protest the DAP-PKR coalition government's intent to change New Economic Policy practices in the state.


    Those taking part in the gathering demanded that the state government leave the NEP alone and also called on chief minister Lim Guan Eng to ensure the Malays were not marginalised under the new state administration. They said he should not turn Penang into another Singapore.

    Police, including light strike force personnel, were on standby as the crowd started to gather along Jalan Magazine after Friday prayers about 2.15pm. They carried banners which read Jangan Hapuskan Dasar Ekonomi Baru (do not abolish the NEP), Kami Melayu Pulau Pinang menyokong Kepimpinan Pak Lah (We the Malays of Penang support Pak Lah (prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's leadership) and Hidup Melayu (long live the Malays).

    North East district police chief assistant commissioner Azam Abdul Hamid later ordered the crowd to disperse after informing them that police did not issue any permit for the gathering. He later called on the person leading the gathering to come forward if they wanted to present a memorandum to the state government.

    At this point, Bukit Mertajam Umno division chief Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir stepped forward and tried to address the crowd. However, he was prevented from giving any speeches. Also, there were other state Umno leaders, including state Umno liaison deputy chief Datuk Seri Abdul Rashid Abdullah and state Umno secretary Datuk Azhar Ibrahim.

    The crowd dispersed peacefully after shouting slogans for about 45 minutes and police did not arrest anyone.

    Azhar later told reporters that the gathering was organised as the Malays wanted to vent their anger against the state government's stand on the NEP.

    He said Lim should not issue anymore statements that could hurt the feelings of the Malays. Malays, he said, wanted all privileges that had been accorded to them to be maintained.

    He said any move to introduce the open tender system in Penang would only lead to the marginalisation of the Malays. "We will plan to hold similar gatherings in the future and we will submit our memorandum to the governor soon," he said.

    In an immediate response, Lim said the state government did not have any problems who wanted to take part in gatherings.

    "It is all part of freedom of speech. However, I am surprised that they did not give me any memorandum. This is the first time a demonstration has been held but those who organised it did not have any memorandum to be submitted," he said.

    Lim said the newly-formed state government was willing to listen to what the people had to say, including those from Umno.

    However, he stressed that the state government would proceed with its plan to have open tenders as it was the best method to cut out corruption, cronyism and systematic inefficiency. "It looks like Umno has failed in its bid to run down the new state government. There are only trying to draw the people's attention away from their own internal problems," he said.

    Earlier, Lim met PKR de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at his office in Komtar.

    Anwar later told reporters it was his first visit since the coalition government was formed in Penang.

    On the illegal gathering he said the party was confident it had the support of the Malays.

    "That is why Umno was rejected in the general election and is now desperately trying to divert the attention to others," he said.
    The New Straits Times Online 
    Interesting are the facts that the Chinese are now hell bent in not wanting the NEP which gives the Moslem Malays preference in all fields over other communities and is discriminatory.

    Another interesting aspect is that the King of Perak insists that though the ultra Moslem party PAS has the least number of seats than its coalition partners, PAS should have the Mentri Besar (Prime Minister) as also the Deputy since Perak is a Moslem states as other the others of Malaysia!

    And Malaysia is supposed to be the more tolerant of the Islamic countries!

    In other words, irrespective of the verdict of the people, Islamist will rule.

    That is Islamic democracy for you and a reminder to those who are of the opinion that western style of democracy can be instilled in an Islamic country!!


    "Some have learnt many Tricks of sly Evasion, Instead of Truth they use Equivocation, And eke it out with mental Reservation, Which is to good Men an Abomination."

    I don't have to attend every argument I'm invited to.

    HAKUNA MATATA
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