Fundamentalism a key issue in Malaysia's election<\/p>\n
Lawrence Bartlett
\nAgence France-Presse
\nKuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Malaysia's upcoming elections will be watched closely for signs
\nthat Islamic fundamentalism is gaining ground in one of the
\nMuslim world's most economically-advanced states.<\/p>\n
The date for Malaysia's national elections will be announced
\non Friday, the Election Commission said after parliament was
\ndissolved on Thursday on the orders of Prime Minister Abdullah
\nAhmad Badawi.<\/p>\n
By law the vote must be held within 60 days of the dissolution
\nof parliament, but is widely expected before the end of this
\nmonth, with pundits predicting March 20 as polling day.<\/p>\n
The vote will pit the government against a conservative
\nIslamic opposition that made sweeping gains in the last poll five
\nyears ago.<\/p>\n
That success has been put down by ruling party supporters to
\nanger over the treatment of popular former deputy prime minister
\nAnwar Ibrahim, who was sacked in 1998 and jailed on what critics
\nsay were trumped-up charges of corruption and sodomy.<\/p>\n
With Anwar's plight now fading as an issue, voters who ditched
\nthe ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) for the
\nhardline Islamic Party (PAS) will return to the fold, according
\nto this theory.<\/p>\n
Describing them as \"refugee voters\", former deputy premier
\nMusa Hitam said: \"They did not switch over to the opposition out
\nof political conviction but out of frustration over the Anwar
\nIbrahim issue.<\/p>\n
\"But they don't feel this anymore. At this general election I
\nexpect these refugees to be back.\"<\/p>\n
PAS sees it differently, believing its call for religious rule
\nalong the lines of Afghanistan's ousted Taliban fundamentalists
\nresonates with Muslims sickened by what they see as government
\ncorruption and decadence associated with economic development.<\/p>\n
PAS tripled its parliamentary seats in the 1999 elections,
\ntook power in a second out of 13 states and aims to win control
\nof a further four states in the upcoming vote.<\/p>\n
But UMNO is counting on a change of leadership from veteran
\npremier Mahathir Mohamad to turn the tide.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Abdullah, who took over when Mahathir retired
\nlast October, majored in Islamic studies at university and has a
\nless confrontational style than his predecessor.<\/p>\n
\"With Abdullah's impeccable Islamic credentials PAS will find
\nit harder to attack him from the religious angle, although it
\nwill still try to convince its supporters that UMNO is
\nunacceptable as far as religion is concerned,\" analyst Wong Chun
\nWai wrote in The Star.<\/p>\n
Islam is the official religion in Malaysia, but the
\nconstitution calls for a secular government in this multi-racial
\nnation with large Buddhist, Christian and Hindu minorities among
\nthe ethnic Chinese and Indians who make up more than a third of
\nthe 25 million population.<\/p>\n
\"The election will be a referendum on the new prime minister,\"
\nan Asian diplomat told AFP. \"The challenge is in the vulnerable
\nMalay states up north and whether he can deliver the goods.\"
\nApart from his religious credentials, Abdullah has given priority
\nto issues close to the hearts of rural Malays -- ending
\ngovernment corruption and promoting agriculture.<\/p>\n
\"There will be a swing of votes, quite substantially, back to
\nUMNO,\" said National University lecturer Mohamad Agus Yusoff.<\/p>\n
\"The economy is in good shape and there is a lack of issues,
\nso this is to the advantage of the National Front,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The National Front is a coalition of 14 parties led by UMNO,
\nwhich crucially includes the main parties representing the
\ninterests of the Chinese and the Indians who shun the Islamic
\nfundamentalism of PAS.<\/p>\n
More than 10 million voters will choose 219 representatives
\nfor the federal parliament and 505 lawmakers for 12 state
\nassemblies for a new five-year term.<\/p>",
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